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CONCISE 


INFORMATION 

SUCH AS 


1 


History, Biography, Ancient Customs and 
Civilizations, Useful and Interesting 
Facts about the United States, 


PECULIABITIES OF 


Continents, Oceatis, Mountains and Rivers, Modes of 
Burial, Seven Hinders of the World, Import¬ 
ant Battles, Crotons of Different Na¬ 
tions, English Kings, High Struc¬ 
tures, Album Selections, 

&c., &=c., &=c. 






Compiled by S., Strock 



HARRISBURG, PA. 

1886. 





[Copyright, 1886, by S. Strock.] 


F**uSu59| 

P«SS?2f 

kSb^woToirl 




UNITED STATES. 


Area.— The entire area of the 13 original 
States was 341,756 square miles. By the 
treaty of peace concluded with Great Britain 
September 3, 1783, our National territory 
.was defined as extending westward from the 
Atlantic to the Mississippi river, and from 
the lakes to the thirty-first parallel, and the 
southern boundary of Georgia, embracing 
over 800,000 square miles. The first great 
stride in the extension of our territory was 
made in 1803—the purchase of Louisiana 
from the French ‘for $15,000,000. It ex¬ 
tended from the Mississippi river to the 
Rocky Mountains, and from the British pos¬ 
sessions to the Gulf of Mexico. It contained 
899,579 square miles, and more than doubled 
the area of the United States. Thus the 
mouth of the Mississippi river came forever 
under American control, and its free naviga¬ 
tion was assured. In 1819 Florida and the 
adjacent islands were ceded by Spain to the 
United States for $5,000,000. Area, 66,900 
square miles. Texas was annexed in 1845. 
It contained 318,000 square miles. The 



4 Concise Information. 

Maine boundary between Great Britain and 
the United States was settled by treaty in 
1842, and the Oregon boundary in 1846. 
The forty-ninth parallel was established as 
the international boundary. Oregon had 
been claimed by both nations. The land 
acquired by these treaties greatly extended 
our domain. In 1848 New Mexico and Cali¬ 
fornia were ceded, the Rio Grande was made 
the western boundary of Texas, for which 
the United States was to pay Mexico $15,- 
000,000 and to assume the debts of Mexico 
to American citizens, not to exceed $3,500,- 
000. Area, 522,955 square miles. In 1853 
a dispute arose about the boundary line be¬ 
tween New Mexico and Chihuahua. The 
difficulty was adjusted by the purchase—$10,- 
000,000—from Mexico of the disputed sec¬ 
tion, which finally became the Territory of 
Arizona—45,555 square miles. Alaska was 
purchased from Russia in 1867. It contained 
577,390 square miles. The price paid was 
$7,200,000. Our country is continental in 
its character, stretching in a,n unbroken ex¬ 
panse from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It 
contains 3,603,884 square miles-, and has a 
coast line 14,100 miles long—a region larger 
than the famous Roman empire in its greatest 
days. 


Concise Information. 


5 


Attorney General —1789, Edmund Ran¬ 
dolph, of Virginia. The Department of Jus¬ 
tice, with the United States Attorney Gen¬ 
eral at the head, who also became a member 
of the President’s Cabinet, was established 
by Congress June 22, 1870. 

Banks. —The Bank of North America was 
chartered by Congress in 1781, and by 
Pennsylvania in 1782. Capital, $400,000. 
It began business in Philadelphia in January, 
1782, and aided the Government greatly in 
paying the army. The bank is still in exist¬ 
ence. The United States Bank was incor¬ 
porated in 1791. The Philadelphia Savings 
Fund Society, organized November, 1816, 
was the first savings bank in the United 
States. Greenbacks were first issued in 1862. 
The National Bank system was organized in 
1863. National banks in 1882, 2,308; State 
banks, private banks, etc., 4,473 1 savings 
banks, 667 ; total number of banks, 7,448. 

Battles—First and Last. —Revolution : 
First, Lexington, April 19, 1775. First 

naval battle, September 23, 1779—Paul 

Jones captured the Serapis. Last, Yorktown, 
October, 1781. American independence 
acknowledged by France, 1778. Treaty of 
peace signed between Great Britain and the 
United States, at Paris, September 3, 1783. 


6 


Concise Information. 


American army disbanded by order of Con¬ 
gress, November 3, 1783. Washington re¬ 
signed his commission December 23, 1783. 
June 18, 1812, war with Great Britain de¬ 
clared. First battle, Brownstown, Canada, 
August 5, 1812. Last, New Orleans, Janua¬ 
ry 8, 1815. Treaty of peace signed Decem¬ 
ber 24, 1814. Mexican war—First battle, 
Palo Alto, May 8, 1846. Last, Humantha, 
October, 9, 1847. Treaty of peace signed 
February 2, 1848. Rebellion—First battle, 
bombardment of Fort Sumpter, April 12, 
1861. Last, near Boco Chico, Texas, May 
10, 1865. 

Books. —First book issued — Bay Psalm 
Book— at Cambridge, Mass., 1640. It was 
prepared by Eliot and others. In 1661 John 
Eliot published his translation of the New Tes¬ 
tament into the Indian language, and in 1663, 
the Old Testament, at Cambridge, Mass. 

Brother Jonathan. —When Washington 
went to Massachusetts to organize the army, 
and make preparation for the defense of the 
country, he found a great want of ammuni¬ 
tion and other means necessary to meet the 
British, and great difficulty in obtaining 
them. On one occasion a consultation of 
the officers and others was had, when it 
seemed no way could be devised to make 


Concise Information. 7 

such preparation as was necessary. Jonathan 
Trumbull was then governor of Connecticut, 
and as Washington placed the greatest reli¬ 
ance on his judgment and aid, he remarked, 
‘‘We must consult Brother Jonathan on the 
snbject.” He did so, and the Governor was 
successful in supplying many of the wants of 
the army. When difficulties afterward arose, 
and the army was spread over the country, 
it became a by-word—“We must consult 
Brother Jonathan.” The origin of the ex¬ 
pression was soon lost sight of, and the name 
“Brother Jonathan” came to be applied to 
the people of the United States. 

Canals. —In 1762 the first canal route was 
surveyed between the Swatara and Tulpe- 
hocken creeks in Pennsylvania. The South 
Hadley and the Montague canals were char¬ 
tered and begun in 1792. The Middlesex 
canal was completed in 1804. It connected 
Boston harbor with the Concord river. 

Colleges. —In 1636 the General Court of 
Massachusetts Bay voted $ 2,000 for a school 
or college, which finally became known as 
Harvard College. Henry Dunster, an emi¬ 
nent Hebrew scholar, was its first president. 
The first commencement took place October 
9, 1642, and nine candidates took the degree 
of A. B. William and Mary College was 


8 


Concise Information . 


founded at Williamsburg, Va., in 1693. Yale 
College was chartered in 1701. In 1884 
there were 370 colleges and universities; 
4,644 instructors, 65,522 students. 

Continental Congress. —The first Con¬ 
tinental Congress met at Philadelphia Sep¬ 
tember 5, 1774, President, Peyton Randolph, 
of Virginia. Patrick Henry made the open¬ 
ing speech. The second time, May 10, 1775. 
This Congress elected Washington com¬ 
mander-in-chief of the army on the 15th of 
June, 1775. In 1776 Congress adjourned to 
Baltimore; thence to Lancaster. After Howe 
entered Philadelphia it adjourned to York, 
September 30, 1777, where it continued to 
meet until Howe left Philadelphia. 

Congress. —The time appointed for the 
meeting of the first Congress was at New 
York, March 4, 1789. It did not open until 
April 6th, no quorum of members having be¬ 
fore arrived. First President of the Senate, 
John Adams, Massachusetts. First Speaker 
of the House, F. A. Muhlenberg, Pennsylva¬ 
nia. Met in Philadelphia—third session— 
December 6, 1790, where it remained until 
1800. Congress met for the first time in the 
city of Washington on November 17, 1800. 

Constitution agreed on by the Conven¬ 
tion of Delegates at Philadelphia, September, 


Concise Information. 9 

1787. Government organized under the 
Constitution, 1789. 

Dark Day.— On May 19, 1780, darkness 
extended over all New England. In some 
places persons could not see to read common 
print in the open air for several hours togeth¬ 
er. Birds sang their evening song, disap¬ 
peared, and became silent; fowls went to 
roost; cattle sought the barn-yard, and can¬ 
dles were lighted in the houses. The dark¬ 
ness commenced about 10 o’clock in the 
morning, and lasted until the middle of the 
following night, but with difference of degree 
and duration in different places. The true 
cause of this darkness is not known. 

Death of Two ex-Presidents in One 
Day.— Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, 
ex-Presidents of the United States, died on. 
July 4, 1826—50 years after signing the 
Declaration of Independence. 

Deaths in the Late War.— The number 
of deaths from all causes in the Union army, 
during the civil war was 359,496. Of these 
only 110,039—l ess than one third—were 
killed in action or died of wounds; 224,586 
of the whole number died of disease. 

Earthquakes were felt for 20 days in 
New England in 1638. In 1727 and 1755 
there were earthquakes of great severity in 


IO 


Concise Information. 


the same section. On December 16, 1811, 
until the following February, numerous earth¬ 
quakes agitated the valley of the Mississippi 
for an extent of 300 miles, from the mouth 
of the Ohio to that of the St. Francis- The 
ground rose and sunk in great undulations, 
and lakes were formed and then drained. 
New Madrid, Missouri, suffered more than 
any other town on the Mississippi from the 
effects. In some places the earth opened in 
wide fissures, and closing again, threw the wa¬ 
ter, sand, and mud in huge jets, higher than 
the tops of the trees. By the heaving of the 
bottom of the Mississippi numerous boats 
were wrecked and sunk—many of the crews 
perishing with them. In October, 1865, 
and October, 1868, a large amount of prop¬ 
erty was destroyed by earthquakes in San 
Francisco. In 1868 the walls and chimneys 
of a number of houses fell, causing loss of 
life, and many accidents. Shortly before 
10 o’clock on Tuesday night, August 31, 
1886, an earthquake was felt throughout the 
greater portion of the United States east of 
the Mississippi river. In Ohio, Indiana, 
Alabama, North and South Carolina the 
shocks were quite severe. At Charleston, 
S. C., a number of persons were killed and 
injured. The damage to buildings was im- 


Concise Information. 11 

mense, the loss being estimated at several 
millions of dollars. 

Fire Engine.— In 1654 the Lynn Iron 
Works contracted to build for the city of 
Boston an “engine to carry water in case of 
fire.” This was the first built in the United 
States. In 1841 a steam fire engine was 
built in New York after a model made by 
Captain John- Erricsson. A steam fire engine 
was built and put into effective use in Cin¬ 
cinnati, in 1853. In 1852 a fire alarm tele¬ 
graph was constructed in Boston. 

First Cabinet, 1789.—Secretary of State, 
Thomas Jefferson, Virginia; Secretary of 
Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, New York; 
Secretary of War, General Henry Knox, 
Massachusetts. The War Department cov¬ 
ered Army, Navy, and Indian Affairs. 

First Minister Plenipotentiary.— Con¬ 
gress appointed John Adams, Minister Pleni¬ 
potentiary to the Court of Great Britain, in 
February, 1785. 

First President Inaugurated.— Wash¬ 
ington was inaugurated President of the 
United States on a balcony in front of the 
Senate Chamber, in Federal Hall, Wall 
street, New York, on Thursday, April 30, 
1789. First inaugurated at Washington, 
Thomas Jefferson. First to deliver his in- 


Concise Information. 


r 2 

augural address outside the Senate Chamber, 
James Monroe. Fillmore took the oath of 
office without delivering an inaugural address. 
Longest address, Harrison’s; shortest, Wash¬ 
ington’s, second term. 

First Public Building. —The first build¬ 
ing erected in any part of the United States 
for public use, under the authority of the 
Federal Government, was a structure for the 
United States Mint. The corner-stone was 
laid by David Rittenhouse, Director of the 
Mint, at Philadelphia, July 31, 1792. 

First Settlements. —The oldest perma¬ 
nent settlement in the United States was 
made by the Spaniards at St. Augustine, 
Florida, in 1565. First permanent English 
settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, May 23, 
1607. Pilgrim Fathers, Plymouth, Massa¬ 
chusetts, December 21, 1620. The last set¬ 
tled of the 13 States was Georgia—by the 
English, 1733. 

First State Admitted. —The first State 
admitted into the Union, after the adoption 
of the Constitution by the 13 original States, 
was Vermont, March 4, 1791. 

First Voyage Around the World.— 
The first American voyage around the world 
was made in 1790, by Captain Gray, of Bos¬ 
ton, in the ship Columbia. 


Concise Information. 


13 


“Garden of the World.” —A name giv¬ 
en to the country which is drained by the 
Mississippi and its tributaries—over 1,200,- 
000 square miles—a region of great fertility. 

Glass. —The first glass factory was erected 
in 1609, near Jamestown, Va. The first 
glass factory in Pennsylvania was built near 
Philadelphia in 1683, under the direction of 
William Penn. According to the census of 
1880 our flint glass factories turn out 210,- 
554 tons of table and other glassware, and 
the window glass works produce 2,644,440 
boxes. Total value of products, over $45,- 
000,000. 

Grand Jury.— The first grand jury met 
in Boston, September 1, 1635. 

Great Seal of the United States adopted 
June 20, 1782. 

Hospitals. —The first hospital was opened 
in Boston in 1717. Pennsylvania Hospital 
was chartered in 1751. The first army hos¬ 
pital was established at Cambridge, June 17, 
1775 - 

Indians. —The origin of the Indian race 
of America is unknown. It is believed that 
at the time America was discovered, the 
number of Indians within the limits of the 
United States did not exceed 1,000,000. 
Present number about 260,000. 


4 


Concise InJ or motion. 


Insurance. —John Copson, of Philadel¬ 
phia, was the first to engage in marine insu¬ 
rance, 1721. In 1753 the first office for this 
business was opened in New York. “The 
Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insu¬ 
rance of Houses from Loss by Fire, ’ ’ was organ¬ 
ized, with Dr. Franklin as president, in 1752. 
The first life insurance company was charter¬ 
ed in Pennsylvania in 1769. The Traveler’s 
Insurance Company was organized in 1863. 

Interior Department was organized in 
1849, by Congress. Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, 
was appointed Secretary. Indian affairs were 
transferred to this from the War Department. 
The Secretary is charged with affairs relating 
to the Territories, public lands, Indians, 
patents, pensions, census, education, and the 
beneficiary asylums in the District of Colum¬ 
bia, belonging to the Government. The 
Secretary of the Interior is, by virtue of his 
office, a member of the President’s Cabinet. 

Iron Works were established near James¬ 
town in 1620. In Lynn, Mass., in 1643. A 
quart pot was the first article made. A 
blomary and forge were erected at Taunton, 
Mass., in 1652, Estimated iron and steel 
production in 1886, over 6,000,000 tons— 
the greatest ever known. 

Judiciary of the United States was estab- 


Concise Injormation. 


i5 


lished by Congress in September, 1789. John 
Jay, of New York, was appointed Chief Jus¬ 
tice, and Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, 
Attorney General. 

Lakes. —At the north, separating the Uni¬ 
ted States from British America, is a chain 
of great lakes. The largest and most western 
is Lake Superior, 31,500square miles. “The 
great lakes, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Su¬ 
perior, with their connecting waters, have by 
a decision of the Supreme Court of the Uni¬ 
ted States, been declared to be commercially 
and legally, seas. In 1858 the Supreme 
Court of Michigan decided, in the case of the 
American Transportation Company w. Frank¬ 
lin Moore and others, that the navigation of 
the great American lakes and their connecting 
waters, is not ‘inland navigation,’ within 
the meaning of the act of Congress, entitled 
‘ An act to limit the liability of ship owners,’ 
and for other purposes, approved March 5, 
1855. This case was taken to the Supreme 
Court of the United States, when, on hear¬ 
ing argument, the decision of the Michigan 
court was fully sustained, thereby legalizing 
the above important decision. Ship-owners 
now have the same protection under the said 
act of Congress on the lakes of * inland seas,’ 
as they do on the sea-board or tide-waters. 


6 


Concise Information. 


The States washed by these seas are New 
York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, In¬ 
diana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, 
beside a part of British America, affording 
altogether a sea-coast of about 5,000 miles. 
This great expanse of waters has an estimated 
area of 90,000 square miles.” 

Libraries.— The first subscription library 
was originated in 1731, by Benjamin Franklin, 
in Philadelphia. First apprentices’ library, 
Philadelphia, 1819. 

Lightning Rods were invented by Benja¬ 
min Franklin in 1752. 

Meteoric Shower.— The most splendid 
meteoric shower on record occurred on No¬ 
vember 12, 1833. It began at 9 o’clock in 
the evening, and lasted until sunrise next 
morning. It extended from Niagara, and the 
northern lakes, to the south of Jamaica, and 
from 61 degrees of longitude in the Atlantic, 
to 100 degrees of longitude in Central 
Mexico. Shooting stars and meteors of the 
apparent size of Jupiter, Venus, and even the 
full moon, darted in thousands toward the 
horizon. It is estimated that over 200,000 
fell in the space of nine hours. 

Money.— First money coined in the Uni¬ 
ted States, 1652. It consisted of small round 
pieces of silver stamped on their faces “ N. 


Concise Information. 17 

E. XII.,” and “N. E. VI.,” respectively, and 
these coins are known to-day as the New 
England shillings and sixpences. The first 
United States coinage—1793—was of copper, 
brought from England, and were cents and 
half cents. In 1794 silver was first coined— 
dollars and half dollars. First gold coined, 
1 795. Gold dollars and double eagles were 
first coined in 1849. Coins before 1793 
were struck by private parties, and not by 
the authority of the United States Govern¬ 
ment. The first director of the mint, David 
Rittenhouse, was appointed by Washington 
April 14, 1792. 

Mountains. —The highest in the United 
States, Sierra Nevada, California, 15,500 feet. 
Highest peak east of the Mississippi, Mount 
Buckley, North Carolina, 6,599 feet. Highest 
in New England States, Mount Washington, 
New Hampshire, 6,288 feet. 

National Road from Cumberland, Md., 
to Ohio, authorized by Congress in 1806. It 
was the first great internal improvement con¬ 
structed at the expense of the Government. 

Naturalization law passed March, 1790. 

Navy Department was erected by Con¬ 
gress in 1798. First Secretary, Benjamin 
Stoddert, of Maryland. Naval school at An¬ 
napolis, Md., opened October, 1845. The 

2 


18 Concise Information. 

War Department had charge of naval affairs 
until April, 1798. The Secretary of the Navy 
is, by virtue of his office, a member of the 
President’s Cabinet. 

Newspapers. — The first newspaper — a 
monthly called Public Occurrences , both For¬ 
eign and Domestic —was issued at Boston, Sep¬ 
tember 25, 1690. It was immediately sup¬ 
pressed by the authorities. The Boston 
News Letter appeared April 24, 1704, and 
continued to be issued weekly until 1776. 
First printing press in Pennsylvania. 1686. 
First publication an almanac. The first lit¬ 
erary magazine, 1741, was the General Mag¬ 
azine and Historical Chronicle , by Benjamin 
Franklin. It lasted only six months. First 
English Bible, 1752, at Boston. First paper 
mill, near Germantown, Pa., 1690. First 
type foundry, Germantown, Pa., about 1735. 
First engraving on copper plate, 1718—a por¬ 
trait of Increase Mather. In 1776 there 
were 37 newspapers, published in the United 
States. In 1886 over 14,000 newspapers and 
periodicals. 

Patent Right Law passed by Congress, 
April 15, 1790. The first patent was issued 
to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790, “for 
making pot or pearl ashes.” 

Plants, Fruit, and Animals.— Buck- 


Concise Information. 19 

wheat was cultivated on Manhattan Island in 
1626. Rice culture began in 1694, by plant¬ 
ing a package of rice from Madagascar, which 
was given to the Governor of South Carolina 
by a sea captain. In 1751 slips of cane were 
obtained from the West Indies and planted 
in the gardens of New Orleans. From these 
slips came the great sugar plantations in the 
South. Culture of tobacco in Virginia, 1616. 
Cotton first cultivated at Jamestown, Va., 
1621. Wheat sown on Long Island, 1605. 
First apple trees on Governor’s Island, Bos¬ 
ton Harbor, “bore ten fair pippins” in 1639. 
First nursery, 1640, at Danvers, Mass. An 
apple nursery—large quantities of trees were 
sold. Cattle and hogs brought to Virginia 
from Europe, 1611. 

Popular Names of Cities. 

Bluff City.—A descriptive name applied 
to Hannibal, Mo. 

City of Brotherly Love.— Philadelphia. 
This is the literal meaning of the name. 

City of Churches. —Brooklyn, N. Y., from 
the large number of churches which it con¬ 
tains. 

City of Elms. —New Haven, Conn., many 
of the streets of which are thickly shaded with 
lofty elms. 


20 Concise Information. 

City of Magnificent Distances. —Wash¬ 
ington, which is laid out on a very large 
scale. 

City of Notions. —Boston, the metropo¬ 
lis of Yankeedom. 

City of Rocks.— Nashville, Tenn. 

City of Spindles. —Lowell, Mass., the 
largest cotton manufacturing town in the 
United States. 

City of the Straits. —Detroit, which is 
situated on the west bank of the river or strait 
connecting Lake St. Clair with Lake Erie. 
Detroit is a French word meaning “strait.” 

Cream City.— Milwaukee, so called from 
the peculiar color of the bricks of which the 
buildings are constructed. 

Crescent City.— New Orleans, the older 
portion of which is built around a bend of 
the Mississippi. 

Empire City.— New York, the largest city 
in the United States, and the metropolis of 
the Empire State. 

Falls City.— Louisville, Ky., from the 
falls at this place. 

Flour City.— Rochester, N. Y., remarka¬ 
ble for its extensive manufacture of flour. 

Flower City.— Springfield, Ill., noted for 
the beauty of its surroundings. 

Forest City.— Cleveland, Ohio, and Port- 


Concise Information. 21 

and, Maine. Both cities contain many beau¬ 
tiful shade trees. 

Garden City.— Chicago, remarkable for 
the number and beauty of its private gardens. 

Gate City. —Keokuk, Iowa. It is situated 
at the foot of the lower rapids of the Missis¬ 
sippi. 

Gotham.— New York, first given to it in 
Salmagundi, because the inhabitants -were 
such wiseacres. 

Hub of the Universe.— Boston. 

Iron City.—P ittsburg, a city having nu¬ 
merous iron manufactories. 

Monumental City.— Baltimore, so called 
from the monuments which it contains. 

Mound City.— St. Louis. Many artificial 
mounds occupied the site on which the city 
is built. 

Puritan City.— Boston, in allusion to the 
character of its founders and early inhabi¬ 
tants. 

Quaker City.— Philadelphia, which was 
settled by Quakers. 

Queen City.— Cincinnati, when it was 
the commercial city of the West. 

Queen of the Lakes. —Buffalo, from its 
position and importance. 

Railroad City.— Indianapolis, itbeingthe 
terminus of various railroads. 


22 Concise Information. 

Smoky City. —Pittsburg. The use of bi¬ 
tuminous coal occasions dense volumes of 
smoke to fill the air and gives to the build- 
n gs a dark and smoky appearance. 

Popular Names of States. 

Badger State.— Wisconsin. 

Bay State. —Massachusetts. Previous to 
the adoption of the Federal Constitution it 
was called the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. 

Bayou State. —Mississippi, which abounds 
in bayous, or creeks. 

Bear State.— Arkansas, on account of the 
number of bears that formerly infested its 
forests. 

Blue Hen State.— Delaware. 

Buckeye State. —Ohio, from the buckeye 
tree, which abounds there. 

Centennial State. —Colorado, admitted 
into the Union during the Centennial year, 
1876. 

Creole State. —Louisiana, in which the 
descendants of the original French and Span¬ 
ish settlers constitute a large proportion of 
the population. 

Diamond State. — Delaware, from its 
small size and great worth, or supposed im¬ 
portance. 

Empire State.— New York, the most pop¬ 
ulous and wealthiest State in the Union. 


Concise Information. 23 

Excelsior State. —New York, from the 
motto “ Excelsior ” on its coat of arms. 

Freestone State. — Connecticut, from 
the quarries of freestone which it contains. 

Granite State.— New Hampshire, the 
mountainous portions of which are largely 
composed of granite. 

Green Mountain State. —Vermont, the 
Green Mountains being the principal mount¬ 
ain range in the State. 

Hawkeye State.— Iowa, named after an 
Indian chief. 

Hoosier State.— Indiana, the inhabitants 
of which are often called Hoosiers, a corrup¬ 
tion of husher, formerly a term for bully. 

Keystone State.— Pennsylvania, so call¬ 
ed from its being the central State of the 
Union at the time of the formation of the 
Constitution. 

Lake State. —Michigan, which borders 
upon tour lakes—Superior, Michigan, Huron 
and Erie. 

Lone Star State. —Texas, from the de¬ 
vice on its coat of arms. 

Lumber State. —Maine, the inhabitants 
of which are largely engaged in the lumber 
business. 

Mother of Presidents.— Virginia, which 
has furnished seven Presidents. 


24 Concise Information. 

Mother of States. —Virginia, the first 
settled of the 13 States which united in the 
Declaration of Independence. 

Nutmeg State. —Connecticut, the inhab¬ 
itants of which have such a reputation for 
shrewdness that they have been jocosely ac¬ 
cused of palming off wooden nutmegs on un¬ 
suspecting purchasers, instead of the genuine 
article. 

Old Colony.—A name given to that por¬ 
tion of Massachusetts included within the 
original limits of the Plymouth colony, 
which was formed at an earlier date than the 
colony of Massachusetts Bay. 

Old Dominion.—V irginia. 

Old North State. —North Carolina. 

Palmetto State. —South Carolina, from 
the arms of the State, which contain a pal¬ 
metto. 

Peninsular State. —Florida, from its 
shape. 

Pine Tree State. —Maine, the central 
and northern portions of which are covered 
with extensive pine forests. 

Prairie State. —Illinois. It has wide¬ 
spread and beautiful prairies. 

Sucker State. —Illinois. In early times 
when travelers wended their way over this 
State, they provided themselves with a long. 


2 5 


Concise Informaiion. 

hollow reed, and when thirsty thrust it into 
the holes made by the craw-fish, which gen¬ 
erally contained pure water, and the manner 
in which the traveler drew forth the refresh¬ 
ing element gave him the name of sucker. 

Turpentine State. —-North Carolina, 
which produces and exports large quantities 
of turpentine. 

Wolverine State. —Michigan, so called 
for its abounding with wolverines. 

Population. —In 1688 settlements had 
been made in all the 13 States, except Geor¬ 
gia, and the total population was estimated 
at about 200,000. In 1750 it exceeded 
1,000,000. During the next 25 years the 
number of inhabitants was greatly increased 
by immigration from Europe. In 1776 the 
white population was estimated at about 
2,250,000, nearly one third of whom were 
believed to have been born in Europe. 
Slaves, 500,000. White population of each 


State, as follows : 

New Hampshire,.102,000 

Massachusetts, ....... 352,000 

Rhode Island..58,000 

Connecticut,.202,000 

New York,.238,000 

New Jersey,.138,000 

Pennsylvania,.341,000 









26 


Concise Information . 


Delaware,.37,000 

Maryland,.174,000 

Virginia,.300,000 

North Carolina,.181,000 

South Carolina, .93,000 

Georgia, .27,000 

The first census was taken in 1790. One 
thirtieth of the population was in cities, and 
there were only six cities whose population 
exceeded 8,000. Philadelphia had a popu¬ 
lation of 42,520 ; New York, 33,131. Phila¬ 
delphia, though founded nearly 60 years after 
New York, early took the lead, remaining the 
chief city until nearly 1810. When the first 
census was taken, in 1790, the United States 
constituted little more than the narrow strip 
of territory that stretched between the Atlan¬ 
tic ocean and the range of the Allegheny 
mountains. During the 70 years elapsing 
between 1790 and i860, the invariable ratio 
of growth in our population exceeded one 
third increase each ten years. Therefore the 
results of the census of 1870 came like an 
unexpected blow upon many citizens. The 
sad havoc of civil war, with its innumerable 
consequences, had cut the ratio of increase 
below 23 per cent., a decrease of 4,000,000 
from the prior calculation. Much interest, 
therefore, attached to the census of 1880, in 








Concise Information. 27 

order to ascertain the growth of the last ten 
years. The ratio of 1870 would give 47,000,- 
000 people, and the old average 52,000,000— 
a loss of 2,000,000. 

Population at Each Census. 


i79o>.3,929,827 

1800,.5>3°5>937 

i8to, .7,239,814 

1820, 9,638,191 

1830,.12,866,020 

1840,.17,069,453 

1850,.23,191,876 

i860,.31,443,317 

1870,. 38 , 558,371 

1880,. 5 °>! 55>783 

Census of 1880. 

States. 

Alabama, .1,262,505 

Arkansas,. 802,525 

California,.864,694 

Colorado,. 194,327 

Connecticut,. 622,700 

Delaware,. 146,608 

Florida,. 269,493 

Georgia,.1,542,180 

Illinois,.3,077,871 

Indiana,.1,978,301 





















28 


Concise Information. 


Iowa,. 


Kansas,. 


Kentucky,. 


Louisiana,. 

. . . 939,946 

Maine,. 


Maryland,. 

• • • 934,943 

Massachusetts, . . . 

• • • 1,783,085 

Michigan,. 

0 . . 1,636,937 

Minnesota,. 

• • • 780,773 

Mississippi,. 

• • •IT 3 L 597 

Missouri,. 


Nebraska,. 

. . . 45 2 >402 

Nevada,. 


New Hampshire, . . 

. . . 346,991 

New Jersey, .... 

. . . 1,131,116 

New York,. 

. . . 5,082,871 

North Carolina, . . . 

• • • 1 * 399 * 75 ° 

Ohio,. 

. . . 3,198,062 

Oregon. 

. . . 174,768 

Pennsylvania, .... 

. . . 4,282,891 

Rhode Island, . . . 

■ • • 276,531 

South Carolina, . . . 

• • • 995.577 

Tennessee. 

. . . 1 , 542,359 

Texas,. 

. . . 1 , 591,749 

Vermont,. 

. . . 332,286 

Virginia,. 

. . . 1 , 512,565 

West Virginia, . . . 

. . . 6 l 8,457 

Wisconsin,. 

• • • I * 3 I 5*497 


49 * 37 I * 34 ° 































Concise Information. 


2 9 


33.426 

40,440 

1 35 ? 1 7 7 
177,624 
3 2 ,6 i o 
39> I 59 
ii 9 » 5 6 5 
i43 ? 9 6 3 
7S. ii 6 
20,789 


817,869 

Cities of the United States Over 100,000. 


New York,. 

Philadelphia, . . . . 


. . . 847,170 

Brooklyn,. 

• • • 566,663 

Chicago,. 

• • • 503.185 

Boston,. 

. . . 362,839 

St. Louis,. 

• • • sso-s 1 ^ 

Baltimore,. 

• • • 33 2 > 3 I 3 

Cincinnati,. 

• • • 255,139 

San Francisco, . . . 

• * • 2 33.959 

New Orleans, ... 

. . . 216,090 

Cleveland, . . . . . 

. . . 160,146 

Pittsburg,. 

. . . 156,389 

Buffalo,. 

• • • 155.134 

Washington, . . . . 

• • • M 7. 2 93 

Newark,. 

. . . 136,508 


Territories. 

Alaska,. 

Arizona,. 

Dakota,. 

District of Columbia, . . . 

Idaho, . 

Montana,. 

New Mexico,. 

Utah,.. 

Washington,. 

Wyoming,. 


























30 Concise Information. 

Louisville,. 123,758 

Jersey City,. 120,722 

Detroit,. 116,340 

Milwaukee,. 115,587 

Providence,. 104,857 

According to the census of 1880 there were 
9,945,916 families in the Uuited States. 
Average number of persons to a family, 5.04. 
Number of persons to a square mile, 17.29. 
Number of families to a square mile, 3.43. 
Number of acres to a family, 186.62. Num¬ 
ber of dwellings, 8,955,812. Average num¬ 
ber of persons to a dwelling, 5.60. Number 
of dwellings to a square mile, 3.02. Oc¬ 
cupations—Agriculture, 7,670,493. Profes¬ 
sional and personal services, 4,074,238. 
Manufacturing, mechanical and mining, 3,- 
837,112. Trade and transportation, 1,810,- 
256. All occupations, 17,392,099. 

Post Offices. —In 1692 a royal patent 
constituted Thomas Neale Postmaster Gen¬ 
eral of Virginia and other parts of North 
America. In 1710 Parliament passed “an 
act for establishing a general post office for 
all her Majesty’s dominions.” The Post¬ 
master General was authorized to keep “one 
chief letter office in New York, and other 
chief offices at some convenient place or 
places in each of her Majesty’s provinces or 








Concise Information. 31 

colonies in America.” A line of posts was 
established from the Piscataqua to Philadel¬ 
phia, “ irregularly extended a few years after 
to Williamsburg in Virginia, the post leaving 
Philadelphia for the South as often as letters 
enough were lodged to pay the expense.” 
In 1753 Dr. Franklin was appointed Post¬ 
master General for America, and held the of¬ 
fice till 1774. On the 26th of July, 1775, 
the Continental Congress resolved that a 
Postmaster General be appointed for the 
“ United Colonies,” who should hold his of¬ 
fice at Philadelphia, where the Congress was 
sitting. It states “ that a line of posts be 
appointed, .under the direction of the Post¬ 
master General, from Falmouth, in New Eng¬ 
land, to Savannah, in Georgia, with as many 
cross posts as he shall thinx fit.” In 1790 
the number of post offices in the United 
States was 75. In 1886, 51,252. State hav¬ 
ing the largest number, Pennsylvania, 4,058. 

Postmaster General, 1789, Samuel Os¬ 
good, Massachusetts. The Postmaster Gen¬ 
eral was, in 1829, first invited to a seat in 
President’s Cabinet. 

President —How Chosen.— Technically 
speaking, the President is not elected by the 
people, and the people do not vote directly 
for any presidential candidate. They cast 


3 2 


Concise Information . 


their ballots for electors and these electors 
choose a President and a Vice President. In 
each State the number of electors is equal to 
the number of Senators and Representatives 
which the State has in Congress. Each par¬ 
ty has an electoral ticket, with the names of 
its electors printed on it. The electoral 
ticket which receives the greatest number of 
popular ballots in the State would be chosen 
by the people, and the electors named on it 
will be entitled to give their votes for the 
candidate whom they represent. The elec¬ 
tors who are chosen meet in each State on 
the first Wednesday in December, and cast 
their votes for a President and Vice Presi¬ 
dent. Certificates of the votes cast by the 
electors in each State are then made out and 
sent to Washington. These certificates are 
opened in the presence of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, and counted on 
the second Wednesday in February. The 
candidate for President receiving the majori¬ 
ty of the electoral votes is declared President. 
If no person has such majority, then the elec¬ 
tion goes into the House of Representatives, 
which is required to choose a President from 
the persons (not exceeding three) who have 
received the most electoral votes for Presi¬ 
dent. In the House the vote is by States, 
each State having one vote. 


Concise Information. 


33 


Presidents. —No person except a natural 
born citizen of the United States, having at¬ 
tained to the age of 35 years, is eligible to 
the office of President. 

Washington, born February 22, 1732— 
Virginia; married Mrs. Martha Custis in 
1 759- Washington’s wife brought with her 
as her dower $100,000. Inaugurated, 1789 
—two terms; died December 14, 1799. 

John Adams, born October 30, 1735— 
Massachusetts ;'married Miss Abigail Smith 
in 1764; inaugurated 1797—one term ; died 
July 4, 1826. 

Thomas Jefferson, born April 2, 1743— 
Virginia; married Mrs. Martha Skelton, in 
1772; dowry 40,000 acres of land and 135 
slaves. Inaugurated 1801—two terms ; died 
July 4, 1826. 

James Madison, born March 5, 1751— 
Virginia ; married Mrs. Dolly P. Todd. As 
Mr. Jefferson was a widower, and neither of 
his daughters could be often with him, Mrs. 
Madison (her husband being Secretary of 
State) usually presided over the festivities of 
the White House; and as her husband suc¬ 
ceeded Mr. Jefferson, holding his office for 
two terms, she was in reality the mistress of 
the presidential mansion for 16 years. Inaug¬ 
urated 1809—two terms; died June 23, 1836. 

8 


34 Concise Information. 

James Monroe, born April 28, 1758—Vir¬ 
ginia; married Miss Kortright; inaugurated 
1817—two terms; died July 4, 1831. 

John Quincy Adams, born July 11, 1767— 
Massachusetts; when 11 years old his father, 
John Adams, Minister to France, took him 
to Paris. When 14 years old he went to 
Russia as private secretary to Francis Dana. 
Married in 1797, at London, England, Miss 
Louisa Catharine Johnson, daughter of the 
American consul. Inaugurated 1825—one 
term. In February, 1848, he was stricken 
by paralysis, in the House of Representatives, 
and died in an adjoining room. 

Andrew Jackson, born March 15, 1767— 
North Carolina. When 14 years of age he 
was left alone in the world, without father, 
mother, sister or brother, and without a dol¬ 
lar which he could call his own. Married 
Mrs. Rachel Robards in 1791. In 1829, a 
short time before his inauguration, his wife 
died. This was a great blow to him. She 
was buried in the dress made for her White 
House receptions. Inaugurated 1829—two 
terms; died June 8, 1845. 

Martin Van Buren, born December 5, 1782 
—New York; married Hannah Hoes in 1804; 
inaugurated 1837—one term; died July 24, 
1862. 


Concise Information. 35 

William H. Harrison, born February 9, 

1 773—Virginia: married Miss Symmes in 
1795; inaugurated 1841—one month; died 
April 4, 1841. 

John Tyler, born March 29, 1790; mar¬ 
ried Miss Letitia Christian in 1813; she died 
in Washington in 1842. Married Miss Julia 
Gardiner in June, 1844. Inaugurated 1841— 
3 years and 11 months; died January 17, 1862. 

James K. Polk, born November 2, 1795— 
North Carolina; married Miss Sarah Chil¬ 
dress in 1824 ; inaugurated 1845— one term ; 
died June 15, 1849. 

Zachary Taylor, born November 24, 1784 
—Virginia; married Miss Margaret Smith; 
inaugurated 1849— 1 y ear 4 months and 5 
days; died July 9, 1850. 

Millard Fillmore, born January 7, 1800— 
New York; married Miss Abigail Powers in 
1826; second wife, Caroline Carmichael; 
inaugurated 1850—2 years 7 months and 26 
days; died March 8, 1874. 

Franklin Pierce, born November 23, 1804 
—New Hampshire; married Miss Jane Means 
Appleton in 1834; inaugurated 1853—one 
term; died October 8, 1869. 

James Buchanan, born April 23, 1791— 
Pennsylvania; unmarried; inaugurated 1857 
—one term; died June 1, 1868. 


36 Concise Infonnaiion. 

Abraham Lincoln, born 1809—Kentucky; 
married Miss Mary Todd in 1842 ; inaugura¬ 
ted 1861—4 years 1 month and 10 days. 
Shot by John Wilkes Booth on the evening 
of April 14, 1865, and died next morning. 

Andrew Johnson, born December 29, 1808 
—North Carolina; married Eliza McCardle; 
inaugurated 1865—3 years 10 months and 
20 days; died July 31, 1875. 

Ulysses S. Grant, born April 29, 1822— 
Ohio; married Julia F. Dent in 1848; in¬ 
augurated 1869—two terms; died July 23, 
1885. 

Rutherford B. Haves, born October 4, 
1822—Ohio; married Miss Lucy Ware Webb 
in 1849; inaugurated in 1877—one term. 

James A. Garfield, born November 19, 
1831—Ohio; married Miss Lucretia Rudolph 
in 1858; inaugurated 1881—6 months and 
15 days. Shot by Charles J. Guiteau, July 
2, 1881, and died September 19, 1881. 

Chester A. Arthur, born October 5, 1830 
—Vermont; married Miss Ella L. Herndon 
in 1853; inaugurated 1883—3 years 5 months 
and 14 days. 

Grover Cleveland, born March 18, 1837— 
New York; married Miss Frances Folsom in 
1886; inaugurated 1885. 

Grant was the youngest man inaugurated ; 


Concise Information. 37 

Harrison was the oldest. John Adams was 
the oldest at the time of his death, and Gar¬ 
field the youngest. 

President’s Message. —In December, 
1801, the first written presidential message 
was communicated to Congress by President 
Jefferson. Washington and John Adams 
had delivered their addresses in person. Jef¬ 
ferson’s course has been pursued by all suc¬ 
ceeding Presidents. 

Public Debt. —Smallest, 1835—$37,513 
05. Largest, 1866—$2,773,236,173 69. 

Railroads. —The first railroad in the 
United States was constructed in Massachu¬ 
setts in 1826. It ran from Milton to Quincy, 
a distance of two miles, and was used for 
transporting granite for the Bunker Hill 
monument. It was operated by horse power 
on iron-plated wooden rails. William How¬ 
ard, of Baltimore, Md., obtained the first 
recorded patent for a locomotive steam en¬ 
gine, December 10, 1828. The first locomo¬ 
tive put into use was built in England for 
the Hudson and Delaware Canal Company. 
The locomotive was put on the rails at Hones- 
dale, Pa., August, 1829. It was called the 
Lion, and was run by Horatio Allen over the 
Carbondale and Honesdale railroad, from 
the Lackawaxen canal to the Lackawanna 


Concise Information. 


38 

river. The first locomotive made in the 
United States was run in December, 1830, 
on the South Carolina railroad. It was built 
at the West Point foundry, on the Hudson. 
A locomotive was built, about the same time, 
by Peter Cooper, at his iron works, Canton, 
Md., which was run successfully on the Balti¬ 
more and Ohio railroad. A street railway 
was opened in New York city in 1852. The 
Pacific railroad was completed May 10, 1869. 
The last tie, of laurel wood, plated with sil¬ 
ver, was laid, and the last spike, of iron, sil¬ 
ver and gold, was driven in the presence of a 
large crowd. In 1886 there were over 130,- 
000 miles of railroads in the United States. 

Rainfall and Temperature. —Average 
annual rainfall: Highest—Neah Bay, Wash¬ 
ington Territory, 123 inches. Lowest—Fort 
Bridger, Utah, and Fort Garland, Colorado, 
each 6 inches. Average annual temperature : 
Highest—Tucson, Arizona; Jacksonville, 
Florida, and New Orleans, Louisiana, each 
69 degrees. Lowest—St. Paul, Minnesota, 
42 degrees. 

Salaries of United States Officers. 


President,.$50,000 

Vice President. 8,000 

Secretary of State, . ... 8,000 

Secretary of Treasury, .... 8,000 




Concise Information. 


39 


Secretary of Interior, .... $8,000 

Secretary of War,. 8,000 

Secretary of Navy, .... 8,000 

Postmaster General,. 8,000 

Attorney General,. 8,000 

Chief Justice Supreme Court, . 10,500 

Associate Justices, .... 10,000 

Circuit Courts, . 6,000 

Senators,. 5,000 

Representatives—Speaker, . . 8,000 

Representatives—Members, . 5,000 


Mileage and Allowance for Senators and 
Representatives. Mileage, 20 cents per mile 
each way; allowance, $125 for stationery and 


newspapers. 

Army. 

General,. . $13,500 

Lieutenant General,.11,000 

Major General, . 7,500 

Brigadier General,. 5,500 

Navy—at Sea. 

Admiral,.$13,000 

Vice Admiral,. 9,000 

• Rear Admiral,.6,000 

Commodore,. 5,000 

Captain,. 4,500 

Commander,. 3,500 


Silk. —In 1656 Virginia is said to have 
made the cultivation of silk “ moderately 


















40 


Concise Information. 


thriving,” and some loyal persons sent to 
Charles II a royal robe woven from silk raised 
in that State. Silk cocoons raised in Georgia 
were shown by Governor Oglethorpe to 
Queen Caroline in 1734. From them she 
had a birth-day dress made. In 1758 10,000 
pounds of silk were sent to England from Sa¬ 
vannah, and brought a good price. In 1747 
Governor Law wore the first coat and stock¬ 
ings made from New England silk. From 
1830 to 1840 great attention was given to 
silk-worm culture. In 1834 a great specula¬ 
tion raged. In 1839 there was a reaction. 
The raising of silk is becoming a regular in¬ 
dustry in this country. Silk goods manufac¬ 
tured in 1884, $34;Ooo,ooo. 

Slavery. —Commencement of negro slave¬ 
ry at Jamestown, Va., in August, 1620. 

Soldiers in the Late War. —The num¬ 
ber of men furnished by each State and Ter¬ 
ritory, from April 15, 1861, to the end of the 
war, was 2,666,999. 

Stars and Stripes. —On the 14th of June, 
1777, the Continental Congress resolved 
“ that the flag of the United States be thir¬ 
teen stripes, alternate red and white, and that 
the Union be thirteen white stars on a blue 
field, representing a new constellation.” 
Paul Jones first unfurled this flag on the 



Concise Information. 41 

Ranger. On the 22d of February, 1778, the 
Stars and Stripes, borne aloft by Paul Jones, 
were honored with a national salute by the 
French fleet in Quiberon Bay. The stars 
formed a circle at first, but the great increase 
of States compelled a change. A new star is 
added to the flag on the 4th of July follow¬ 
ing the admission of a State into the Union. 

State Department was organized in 1789, 
with Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, as Sec¬ 
retary. The Secretary of State is, by virtue 
of his office, a member of the President’s 
Cabinet. 

Steamboats. —Robert Fulton’s steamboat, 
Clermont, left New York in August, 1807, 
for Albany, making the trip and returning in 
7 2 hours. A number of steamboats had been 
built before the Clermont, but she was the 
first to permanently succeed. The first 
steam war vessel was launched at New York 
in October, 1814. The first steamboat on 
western waters was the New Orleans. She 
was launched at Pittsburg, in March, 1811, 
and descended to New Orleans in 14 days. 
Cost $40,000, and cleared $20,000 the first 
season. In 1819 the first steamer—Savan¬ 
nah—crossed the Atlantic. 

Telegraph. —The first telegraph line—be¬ 
tween Baltimore and Washington—was com- 


42 


Concise Information. 


pleted May 27, 1844. Miss Anna Ellsworth 
dictated the first message: “What hath God 
wrought?” The first information given by 
the telegraph was the nomination of James K. 
Polk, for the Presidency, by the Baltimore 
convention. The telegraph companies of the 
United States operate over 170,000 miles of 
wire. 

Telephone. —The telephone was patented 
in March, 1876. 

Thanksgiving was appointed and held in 
the fall of 1621, at Plymouth, in gratitude of 
an abundant harvest. 

Treasury Department was established 
September 2, 1789, with Alexander Hamil¬ 
ton, of New York, as Secretary. The Secre¬ 
tary of the Treasury is, by virtue of his office, 
a member of the President’s Cabinet. 

Turnpike. —The first turnpike was begun 
in June, 1792. On the first day 2,267 shares 
of stock were sold. 

Uncle Sam. —Shortly after the declaration 
of war with England, in 1812, Elbert Ander¬ 
son, of New York, then a contractor, visited 
Troy, where he purchased a large quantity 
of provisions. The inspectors of these 
articles were Messrs. Ebenezer and Samuel 
Wilson. The latter gentleman (known as 
“Uncle Sam”) generally superintended a 


Concise Information. 


43 


large number of workmen, who were em¬ 
ployed in overhauling the provisions pur¬ 
chased by the contractor for the army. The 
casks were marked “E. A.—U. S.” This 
work fell to the lot of a witty fellow in the 
employ of the Messrs. Wilson, who, on being 
asked by some of his fellow-workmen the 
meaning of the mark, (for the letters U. S., 
for United States, were new to them,) said 
“ he didn’t know, unless it meant Elbert An¬ 
derson and Uncle Sam”—alluding exclusively 
then to the said “Uncle Sam” Wilson. The 
joke took among the workmen, and Uncle Sam 
was occasionally rallied by them on the in¬ 
creasing extent of his possessions. Many of 
these workmen enlisted and marched to the 
frontier lines, eating of the provisions they 
had labored to put in good order. Their 
old jokes went with them, and before the 
first campaign ended, this identical one first 
appeared in print. It gained favor rapidly, 
and was soon know in every part of the 
country, and will, no doubt, continue to be 
the nickname of the United States Govern¬ 
ment. 

Velocipede. —The velocipede was pat¬ 
ented by William K. Clarkson, Jr., of New 
York, June 26, 1819. 

Voting by Ballot was first used at the 


44 


Concise Information. 


general election in Massachusetts Bay in May, 
1635. David Henshaw was the first man in 
Massachusetts who offered a printed ballot at 
the polls, he claiming that it was, in a legal 
point of view, a written one. The bal¬ 
lot was rejected; Henshaw prosecuted the 
selectmen, and the matter was carried to the 
Supreme Court, where it was decided that 
Henshaw’s view of the matter was correct. 

War Department was established August 
7, 1789, with General Henry Knox, of Mas¬ 
sachusetts, as Secretary. It covered Army, 
Navy and Indian Affairs. In 1798 the naval 
service was transferred to the Navy Depart¬ 
ment, which in that year became a separate 
organization. The Interior Department was 
organized in 1849, an d Indian Affairs were 
transferred to this from the War Department. 
The Secretary of War is, by virtue of his 
office, a member of the President’s Cabinet. 

Washington. —The site of the city and 
location of the Capitol, White House, public 
reservations and squares were selected by 
President Washington. The corner stone 
for the Capitol was laid September 18, 1793. 
The corner stone of the White House was 
laid October 13, 1792. Washington was 
officially occupied by the United States Gov¬ 
ernment in 1800. Congress commenced its 


Concise Information. 


45 


sessions on November 21, 1800. In August, 
1814, the city was captured by the British. 
The Capitol, Library of Congress, White 
House, Treasury and War offices, Arsenal, 
Long Bridge, and the office of the National 
Intelligencer were burned. Mrs. Madison 
saved a portrait of Washington and the Dec¬ 
laration of Independence. Length of pres¬ 
ent Capitol, 751 feet; greatest depth, 324^ 
feet; height of dome, 307 feet. White 
House 170 feet long by 86 wide, and two 
stories high. The cornerstone of the Wash¬ 
ington monument was laid on July 4, 1848. 
Height, 555 feet, the highest structure in the 
world. Population in 1880, 147,293. 

West Point United States Military Acad¬ 
emy founded March 16, 1802. 

Yellowstone National Park is situated 
in Wyoming Territory. Area 3,575 square 
miles—65 miles from north to south, and 55 
from east to west. Highest part 8,000 feet 
above sea level; lowest, 6,000 feet. It has 
a cold climate—snow covering the ground 
for eight months in the year. Winter begins 
in September. The chief attraction of the 
park is its extraordinary diversity of natural 
phenomena, such as is not brought together 
within the same area in any part of the known 
world. It is a land of streams and waterfalls, 


46 


Concise Information . 


geysers and hot springs, diversified by mount¬ 
ains, hills, dales and lakes, and is covered 
by a dense growth of timber. The Yellow¬ 
stone river flows through this region after 
leaving the Yellowstone lake. It was set 
apart by Congress for a park in 1872. 


Concise Information. 


47 


PECULIARITIES OF THE EARTH. 


Points of the Compass. —The sun rises 
on the 20th of March and the 2 2d of Septem¬ 
ber due east, and sets due west. 

Continents. —All continents are built on 
a plan. There are evidences of systematic 
structure in the shape of continents—a ten¬ 
dency to a triangular form in the sub-divi¬ 
sions of the land, as in Africa and the two 
Americas. All continents have great basins, 
bordered by mountain ranges. More than 
three quarters of the land belonging to con¬ 
tinents lies north of the equator. Conti¬ 
nents are divided into two great areas—the 
Old and New World. They nearly unite 
about the north pole, but toward the south 
pole divide in different directions. The New 
World contains one third, the Old World 
contains two thirds of the land. The New 
World is a continent of wet ocean winds; 
the Old world of dry land winds. It is a dry 
land wind that makes Sahara; and this land 
is made dry by the wind of the Old World 
and its height on the east. The New 
World is a continent of fat plains; the Old 



48 


Concise Information. 


World that of frozen or scorched plains. In 
the New World the Mississippi and the Ama¬ 
zon run through plains whose richness no 
other part of the world can equal. In the 
Old World the great plain extending from 
Norway to Kamschatka is locked in frost; 
and that which stretches from the western 
part of Africa into Asia is made barren by 
heat. 

Rainless Districts .—In the Old World the 
rainless districts are the desert of Sahara and 
Egypt, in Africa; in Asia, part of Arabia, 
Syria, and Persia. In the New World, two 
narrow strips on the shores of Peru and Boli¬ 
via, and on the coast of Mexico and Guate¬ 
mala, with a small district between Trinidad 
and Panama, on the coast of Venezuela. 

Oceans. —Three fourths of the surface of 
the earth is covered with water. Around the 
shores of continents the ocean beds slope very 
gradually. A ship has to sail over ioo miles 
eastward from Newfoundland before the 
depth exceeds 1,000 feet, then it quickly 
falls to 9,000, and later still to 14,000. The 
bottom of the ocean is very much like the 
surface of the land. It has mountains, val¬ 
leys and hills. Many of the mountains are 
volcanoes. Its long plains and table lands 
have proved of great value to the layers of 


Concise Information. 49 

submarine telegraph cables. The great 
movements of the ocean—its currents, tides, 
and waves, all conspire to render it pure and 
healthful. 

Seas in the Ocean .—In some parts of 
the ocean enormous masses of grasses, 
growing without roots, float on its surface. 
A famous instance of this kind is the Sar¬ 
gasso (sea-weed) sea, which lies between the 
West Indies and the Canary and Cape 
Verd islands. It has an area of several thou¬ 
sand square miles, is thickly covered with 
sea-weed, and its waters are nearly stagnant 
in the center. The quantity of floating sea¬ 
weed is often such as to impede the progress 
of ships. Steamers avoid this part of the 
ocean. It was discovered by Columbus in 
1492. There are two Sargasso seas in the 
Pacific and one in the Indian ocean. 

Rivers in the Ocean .—There are large 
streams of warm and cold water flowing like 
rivers through the ocean. One of the most 
important is the gulf stream. This singular 
current takes its rise in the Gulf of Mexico, 
being fed by the equatorial currents, which 
have traversed the Southern Atlantic from 
the African coast, around the northern coast 
of South America. Its waters reach a tem¬ 
perature of 88 degrees, and sweep around the 

4 


50 Concise Information. 

shores of the United States, being turned 
aside by the jutting lands of Florida and New¬ 
foundland. In this course, its waters con¬ 
trast most singularly with that of the ocean 
in heat and in color. The gulf stream’s 
average speed varies from 35 to 80 miles per 
day, and its depth of heated water from 300 
to 600 feet. 

A Desert in the Ocean .—There is a large 
region lying nearly half-way between Cape 
Horn and New Zealand which seems to coi> 
respond to the deserts on the land, as mari¬ 
ners represent it as almost wholly destitute of 
signs of life, either in the sea or air. 

Life Under the Ocean .—“The ocean has 
within its bosom a life more multitudinous, 
quite as wonderful, and not less beautiful 
than that of the land. Its mountains rise 
higher than those of Mont Blanc. Its valleys 
and gorges are unequaled by those of the 
Lebanon, the Pyrenees, or even the Hima¬ 
layas. It has great and immense plains, 
which rival those of North America or Cen¬ 
tral Asia. It has vast and illimitable forests, 
which the eye of man has never discerned— 
forests that are fuller by far of busy life than 
those of the tropics. Here in their hidden 
home are myriads of creatures; warring one 
upon the other, organizing into kingdoms, 


Concise Information. 51 

republics, families; working in every form of 
manufacture, as spinners, weavers, architects, 
builders. They exist in all waters—the hot 
as well as the cold—and are absolutely count¬ 
less in numbers.” 

Depth of the Ocean .—The depth of the 
ocean has been greatly overrated. New and 
improved methods have disproved the sound¬ 
ings made years ago. The greatest reliable 
soundings reach a depth of about five and 
one half miles. This corresponds very closely 
to the height above sea level of the tallest 
mountain. The mountains of the ocean are 
whitened for thousands of miles by a tiny, 
creamy shell. The depths are red in color, 
heaped with volcanic masses. 

Mountains. —Mountains are the great col¬ 
lectors and distributors of water. Hot springs 
and volcanoes are found chiefly along the 
mountain ranges near oceans. The larger 
these ranges are the greater has been the 
action of heat. The smallest ranges face the 
smallest oceans, and everywhere the highest 
mountains stand fronting the largest and 
deepest oceans. In America, for a distance 
of 8,280 miles, from Patagonia to the Arctic 
Ocean, there is a vast and steep range of 
lofty mountains, which follows the coast line 
in South America, and spreads somewhat out 


5 2 


Concise Information . 


in North America. In the Old World there 
is no single well-defined continuous chain 
connected with the coast line. Our mount¬ 
ain chains run north and south; those of 
Asia and Europe, east and west. Ours have 
the sun on both sides; those of the Old 
World have the sun on the south side, and 
on the north side are less fertile. In the New 
World the mountain chains on the east side 
of the continent are low; in the Old World 
the mountain chains on the east side are 
high. The most important winds blow from 
the east. High mountain chains on that side 
shut out these winds largely from the Old 
World; low mountain chains on that side 
admit them to the New. The New World 
has the longest, the Old World the loftiest 
chain of mountains. 

Rivers originate in springs, lakes, ice¬ 
fields and glaciers. The number of rivers 
flowing north is small. Large rivers enter 
the ocean by several mouths. The waters of 
the ocean at the mouth of the Ganges are 
muddy 60 miles from the shore. The waters 
of the Amazon are not entirely mixed with 
those of the ocean at the distance of 300 
miles from the coast. It is said that the 
overflow of the Orinoco covers an area nearly 
as large as Pennsylvania. 


Concise Information . 5 3 

Nile .—The fertility of Egypt depends upon 
the overflow of the Nile. About the begin¬ 
ning of June a gradual and continuous in¬ 
crease of the Nile is seen. In August it over¬ 
flows its banks, and reaches its greatest height 
between September 20th and 30th, when it is 
usually 24 feet above low water level. It re¬ 
mains at this height about 15 days, and then 
gradually falls. The river sometimes rises to 
the height of 30 feet, when it does great dam¬ 
age to the country. If it falls short of 18 feet 
a famine is the consequence. ^The cause of the 
fertility which the Nile imparts lies not only 
in it thus watering the land, but also in the 
thick slimy mud which its waters bring along 
down with them and deposit on the soil of 
Egypt. 

Jordan .—The mouth of the Jordan is over 
1,300 feet below the Mediterranean, the 
lowest of any river in the world. Lieut. 
Lynch, of the United States navy, who tra¬ 
versed the Jordan in 1848, ascertained that, 
although the distance from the Sea of Galilee 
to the Dead Sea is but 60 miles in a straight 
line, it is 200 miles by the course of the river, 
which has many curves. Its width varies at 
different points from 75 to 200 feet, and its 
depth from three to twelve feet. Its volume 
of water differs exceedingly at different sea- 


54 


Concise Information. 


sons and from year to year. It descends 
rapidly through its whole course, and at 
length empties into the Dead Sea. The whole 
valley of the Jordan is a huge rent in the 
earth’s crust. Though it is less than 200 
miles in length, at its southern end it has the 
climate and products of the tropics, while at 
its northern end there is a region of perpetual 
snow. 

Uruguay .—“ In a still valley encompassed 
by date trees, the head stream of the Uruguay 
(South America) issues from a rock with such 
violence as to reach a distance of 120 feet in 
the form of an arch, which descends upon 
the rocks with great roaring. Persons can 
pass under the watery arch without becom¬ 
ing wet.” 

Ganges —(the sacred river ofthe Hindoos.) 
It rises from a snowfield imbedded between 
three mountains of about 2 2,000 feet in height. 
The actual spot from which it is seen to issue 
is itself 13,800 feet above sea level. From 
an immense cave in the face of a solid preci¬ 
pice of ice, the stream bursts forth at once a 
river, more than 100 feet wide. Near this 
spot a temple has been erected, to which the 
Hindoo pilgrim resorts. The Grand Canon 
of the Colorado river, United States, is over 
200 miles long. The walls of this water-worn 


Concise Information. 55 

trench are often perpendicular, or nearly so, 
for thousands of feet at a time, and are from 
4,000 to 6,000 feet above the stream. The 
channel is from 30 to 300 feet in width, and its 
descent varies from 5 to 200 feet to the mile. 

Fountain Fitch , the head of one of the riv¬ 
ers of Damascus, is the most magnificent spring 
in Syria. It dashes out of a hillside through a 
great cavern a stream 30 feet in width, roar¬ 
ing and rushing through the rocks a flood of 
crystal water. The ruins of an old temple, 
built over it, still remain, and large shade 
trees make the spot one of great beauty. 

In 2,000 years the gain of land at the mouth 
of the river Po has been 18 miles, for 100 miles 
along the coast. The New World has great, 
the Old World small river systems. The 
eight largest rivers of Asia do not empty as 
much water into the ocean as the Amazon. 


5 6 


Concise Information. 


MODES OF BURIAL 


The three principal modes of disposing of 
the dead have been by embalming, by cre¬ 
mation and by interment. Embalming was 
not confined to the Egyptians. Mummies 
have been found in Mexico ; and the ancient 
Peruvians preserved the bodies of their Incas 
after the Eastern fashion. The Guanches, 
the early inhabitants of the Canary Islands, 
embalmed the bodies of their dead and de¬ 
posited them in catacombs. The Egyptians 
carried the process to perfection. It is esti¬ 
mated that over 400,000,000 mummies are 
in the catacombs of Egypt. The process of 
embalming occupied 70 days. After the 
body had been placed in its case, which was 
generally deposited in two or three others, 
all richly painted, according to the expense 
the relatives were pleased to incur, it was 
placed in a room of the house, upright 
against the wall, until the tomb was ready, 
and the necessary preparations had been 
made for the funeral. The tomb was always 
prepared for the reception of the husband 
and wife, and whoever died first was buried 



Concise Information. 


57 


there, or kept embalmed in the house until 
the decease of the other. At the time ap¬ 
pointed for the funeral, the coffin or mummy 
case was carried forth and deposited in the 
hearse, drawn upon a sledge to the sacred 
lake ; notice having been previously given to 
the judges, and a public announcement made 
of the appointed day. Forty-two judges 
having been summoned and placed in a semi¬ 
circle near the banks of the lake, a boat was 
brought up provided expressly for the occa¬ 
sion, under the direction of a boatman called 
Charon. From this the Greeks took the fable 
of the Styx and the boat of Charon. 
When the boat was ready for the reception 
of the coffin, it was lawful for any person who 
thought proper to bring forward his accusa¬ 
tion against the deceased. If it could be 
proved that he had led an evil life, the judges 
decided accordingly, and the body was de¬ 
prived of the accustomed sepulture; but if 
the accuser failed to establish what he ad¬ 
vanced, he was subject to the heaviest penal¬ 
ties. When there was no accuser, or the ac¬ 
cusation had been disproved, the relatives 
ceased from their lamentations, and pro¬ 
nounced encomiums on the deceased. The 
body was then taken to the family catacomb 
and placed in the repository allotted to it— 


58 Concise Information. 

an affectionate hand often crowning it with 
a garland of bay leaves or fresh flowers, and 
depositing, as the last duty of a beloved 
friend, some object to which, while alive, the 
deceased had been attached. Various ob¬ 
jects were placed in the tombs, many of 
which depended upon the profession or oc¬ 
cupation of the individual. The high priest 
had his censor; the scribe his inkstand or 
palette; in the soldier’s tomb were deposited 
his arms ; in the mariner’s a boat; and the 
peculiar occupation of each artisan was point¬ 
ed out by some implement employed in his 
trade. 

At what time the custom of cremation be¬ 
gan is unknown. The ancient Hebrews prac¬ 
ticed it somewhat; but burial was their gen¬ 
eral rule. The Greeks were, as far as known, 
the first to adopt it to any great extent. 
When the bDdy was to be consigned to the 
earth it was put into a coffin either of baked 
clay or earthenware, and carried beyond the 
town. When the body was to be burned, 
the remains were placed upon a pyre, which 
was ignited in the presence of the relatives 
and friends of the deceased. After the flames 
had been extinguished, the calcined bones 
were collected and placed in urns, which 
were preserved in tombs erected at the side 


Concise Information. 59 

of roads leading from the city. The denial 
of obsequies was considered a disgrace and 
punishment, and was restricted to certain 
criminals, whose bodies after death were cast 
into receptacles designed to that end, and 
left exposed to the action of the elements. 
Rome during the Republic buried its dead, 
although cremation was not infrequent. Dur¬ 
ing the reign of Augustus cremation became 
general, continuing to the close of the fourth 
century. The burning was very nearly the 
same as with the Greeks, except the ceremony 
was often more expensive. The kinsfolk 
of a man of rank burned the body on the 
ground purchased for the sepulcher, but the 
poor had a public place for cremation, be¬ 
cause it was so much less expensive. The 
tombs of the wealthy and titled were often 
spacious and costly, the walls containing 
niches in which the urns were deposited, as 
may still be seen in the tombs lining the Ap- 
pian Way. The first body burned in the 
United States was that of Henry Laurens, 
one of the Presidents of the Continental 
Congress during the Revolutionary war. 
He desired it by his will, and enjoined the 
performance of command on his children 
as a duty. The reason of this was that an 
infant son of his own had been nearly buried 


6o 


Concise Information. 


alive, and he had consequently constantly 
dreaded such a fate for himself. During the 
past few years several crematories have been 
erected in the United States. The first cre¬ 
mation took place at Washington, Pa., on 
December 6, 1&76. 

Interment was the earliest mode of burial. 
It has been practiced all over the globe, in 
every land, in all ages. The first land pur¬ 
chased by Abraham was for a tomb—that of 
Sarah, the mother of the Hebrew race. In 
the older cemeteries of the Etrurians are 
tombs supposed to be 2,800 years old. One 
of the chambers is filled with vessels and furni¬ 
ture, mainly of bronze, very highly wrought. 
Some of the interments during the Celtic 
period show that the bodies were frequently 
buried in strange positions. Skeletons have 
been found lying on the side, the head in¬ 
clined a little forward, the knees drawn 
near the chest, and the heels to the thighs, 
the elbows being brought close to the knees, 
and the hands to the face. The Moham¬ 
medan manner of burial varies in different 
countries and with different tribes. Some¬ 
times it is above instead of below ground, 
the tombs being made of stone or brick, full 
of arched cavities large enough to admit a 
coffin. Into these cavities the dead are 


Concise Information. 61 

thrust, and then the entrance is sealed up. 
There are often three or four rows of these 
apertures, and the tomb may contain from 
nine to fifteen bodies, or even more. Groves 
of cypresses always mark the last repose of 
the Moslem sleepers. The pillars marking 
the graves are always surmounted by turbans. 
Those marking the graves of women are tur¬ 
banless, the unmarried having a sculptured 
rose at the top. The Chinese are extraor¬ 
dinarily devoted to their dead. Some of the 
fairest spots in China are devoted to sepul¬ 
ture. Wherever a Chinaman dies, it is the 
earnest wish of his relatives and friends to 
send home his remains for interment, reck¬ 
less of convenience, time or distance. The 
catacombs of Rome number 60. They are 
said to contain the remains of at least 60,000,- 
000 of persons. The catacombs of Paris are 
the receptacle of the bones of a number of 
the grave-yards of the city, removed to the 
vast quarries in the southern part of the town, 
and consecrated with great solemnity in 1786. 
They are thought to contain the remains of 
3,000,000 of human beings. In the cemetery 
of Picpus, Paris, are the remains of General 
Lafayette and his wife, and several hundred 
persons belonging to the first families of 
France. The cemeteries of Russia are for 


62 Concise Information. 

the most part at some distance from villages 
and towns, and are marked by groves of tall 
pines. The funeral services of the Greek 
Church are impressive. Certain tribes of 
Indians, instead of burying their dead, wrap 
them in skins or blankets, and place them on 
a rude wicker-work made of boughs and sap¬ 
lings laid across poles resting upon others 
notched and driven into the ground. The 
corpses are left to the sunshine and the storm, 
hawks and vultures, the Indians being care¬ 
less of that, convinced that the spirit has 
been gathered to Manitou, the protector of 
the happy hunting-grounds. Every year many 
persons are engulfed by the sea; but there 
are those on its shores who miss their de¬ 
parted, and who affectionately erect tablets 
to their memory. In many places the bury- 
ing-grounds are full of tombstones erected to 
those who have perished at sea. The imitated 
graves are not heaped, but are left perfectly 
flat, in token that nothing is beneath. At 
Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, the large 
cemetery is crowded with these empty tombs. 


Concise Information. 


63 


SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD. 


Colossus of Rhodes. —Rhodes was fa¬ 
mous for its brazen Colossus, which was 105 
feet high, and stood at the entrance of the 
harbor, on 60 marble columns. It was formed 
in the most exact proportions. In less than 
100 years after its erection it was thrown 
down by an earthquake. Rhodes was a fa¬ 
mous city, and its name alludes to the great 
quantity and beauty of the roses that grew 
there. The coins of the city were stamped 
with the figure of a rose. 

Mausoleum of Artemisia. — The tomb 
of Mausolus, king of Caria, was one of the 
most magnificent sepulchers ever constructed. 
It was built by his widow Artemisia, B. C. 
353. Recent excavations have revealed the 
fragments of many beautiful sculptures. Pliny 
says it was 140 feet high. 

Pharos of Alexandria.—A light-house. 
Finished B. C. 280. Said to have lasted for 
1,600 years. The light from its top was 
visible for many miles, 

Pyramids of Egypt. —There are many 
pyramids in Egypt. The largest is Cheops. 



64 


Concise Information . 


It is situated a few miles back from the west 
bank of the river, some distance above Cairo. 
It is regularly built, its four sides looking ex¬ 
actly toward the four points of the compass. 
Its base was originally 764 feet on each side, 
and covered over twelve acres. There were 
about 90,000,000 cubic feet of masonry in it. 
Its height was 480 feet; present height, 450 
feet. The stones were brought from the op¬ 
posite side of the valley of the Nile. The 
first work was to build a road over which to 
convey the stones. Herodotus says 100,000 
men spent ten years on this part of the work. 
After this preparatory work came the leveling 
of the rocky foundation, the cutting out of 
the subterranean chambers, and the elevation 
of the huge masses .of stone. This work oc¬ 
cupied 360,000 men 20 years. These men 
were drafted as men are drafted in time of 
war, each levy serving a certain number of 
months, then others took their places. It 
has an opening on the northern face. There 
are several chambers and passages within it. 
These are lined with immense slabs of pol¬ 
ished red granite from Upper Egypt, several 
hundred miles distant. The chambers are 
supposed to have been the tombs of one of 
the kings and queens of Egypt. The pyra¬ 
mid is built of a sort of cream-colored lime¬ 
stone. 


Concise Information . 65 

Statue of Jupiter Olympus. —This statue 
was made of ivory and gold, the work of 
Phidias, the greatest sculptor of the ancient 
world. The temple in which it was placed 
is said to have excelled all other Athenian 
structures in size, splendor and beauty. Its 
exterior was decorated by about 120 fluted 
columns, 61 feet high and more than six feet 
in diameter. It was 354 feet long and 171 
broad. 

Temple of Diana. —Length, 425 feet, 
width, 220 feet. Ephesus was the most mag¬ 
nificent of the “ magnificent cities of Asia,” 
and the temple was its most splendid, orna¬ 
ment. The ancient temple was destroyed 
by fire on the night of the birth of Alexan¬ 
der the Great, B. C. 356. It was rebuilt at 
the common cost of all the Asiatic States— 
the women contributing to it their jewels. 
It gleamed far off with a star-like radiance. 
The lofty domed roof was supported by 120 
pillars of Parian marble. Its doors were ot 
carved cypress wood. Paintings by the 
greatest of Greek artists adorned the inner 
walls. The roof of the temple was of cedar- 
wood, supported by columns of jasper on bases 
of Parian marble. On these pillars hung 
gifts of priceless value. At the end of it 
stood the great altar adorned by the bas-relief 

5 


66 Concise Information. 

of Praxiteles, behind which fell the vast folds 
of a purple curtain. Behind this curtain was 
the dark adytum (the place from which ora¬ 
cles were given) in which stood the most sa¬ 
cred idol of ancient heathendom ; and again 
behind that adytum was the room which, in¬ 
violable under the protection of the goddess, 
was regarded as the wealthiest and securest 
bank in the world. Population of Ephesus in 
A. D. 54, 600,000. In 1863 excavations in 
search of the great temple were commenced. 
Many columns, part of the platform, and hun¬ 
dreds of fragments of masonry and sculpture, 
including the altar, have been recovered. 

Walls and Hanging Gardens of Baby¬ 
lon.— The walls are said to have been very 
high and wide, and many miles in circuit. 
A deep trench ran parallel with the walls. 
In each of the four sides were 25 brazen 
gates, from which streets crossed to the oppo¬ 
site gates—making 625 squares. Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar’s palace was in an enclosure several 
miles in circumference. Within this were 
the “hanging gardens”—said to have been 
built to gratify the desire of a wife of 
Nebuchadnezzar named Amytis, who, hav¬ 
ing been a native of a mountainous country, 
soon tired of the flat Babylonian plain, and 
longed for something that might remind her 


Concise Information. 67 

of her former home. The structure was a 
square, 400 feet each way, and consisted of 
a series of platforms supported on arches of 
masonry, placed one above the other. The 
building was divided into as many stories as 
there were arches, and was supported by walls 
of great thickness. In these stories were 
many beautiful apartments, where visitors 
rested on their way to the upper terrace. 
The ascent from each of these platforms to 
the one above it was by a broad and beauti¬ 
ful flight of steps, and persons who ascended 
from one to the other found on each success¬ 
ive terrace new and ever-changing beauties in 
the varied arrangement of walks and trees. 
Upon each platform was a thick layer of gar¬ 
den mold deep enough to support and nour¬ 
ish the largest trees. The gardens made 
upon these terraces were laid out in the most 
costly and elegant manner, and were provided 
with fountains, the choicest fruits, and with 
the rarest and most beautiful shrubs and trees. 
On the upper platform was a reservoir of 
water, supplied by engines concealed within 
the structure. Pipes and other machinery 
conducted this water to all the lower terraces, 
in order to supply the various fountains, and 
to water the ground. 


68 


Concise Information. 


• IMPORTANT BATTLES 


Battle of Marathon, B. C. 490, in which the 
Athenians, under Miltiades, defeated the Per¬ 
sians, under Datis. 

Battle of Syracuse, B. C. 413, in which the 
Athenians were defeated by the Syracusans 
and their allies. 

Battle of Arbela, B. C. 331, in which the 
Persians, under Darius, were defeated by the 
Macedonians and Greeks, under Alexander 
the Great. So decisive was the victory that 
the three capitals of the empire, Babylon, 
Susa, and Persepolis, surrendered almost 
without resistance. 

Battle of Metaurus, B. C. 207, in which 
the Carthagenians under Hasdrubal, were 
defeated by the Romans, under four Consuls. 

Battle of Philippi, B. C. 42, in which 
Brutus and Cassius were defeated by Octavius 
and Antony. The fate of the Roman re¬ 
public was decided. Both Brutus and Cassius 
killed themselves. 

The Battle of Actium, B. C. 31, in which 
the combined fleets of Antony and Cleopatra 
were defeated by Octavius, and imperialism 
established in the person of Octavius. 



Concise Information. 69 

The victory of the German Arminius over 
the Roman legions, under Varus, A. D. 9. 

The Battle of Chalons, A. D. 451, in which 
the Huns under Attila, called the “Scourge 
of God,” were defeated by the confederate 
armies of Romans and Visigoths. In this 
battle European civilization and Tartar des¬ 
potism met in a life and death struggle, and 
the former triumphed. It was the savage 
boast of Attila that grass never grew on a spot 
where his horse had trodden. Shortly after 
his death his empire fell to pieces. 

Battle of Tours, A. D. 731, in which the 
Saracens were defeated by Charles Martel. 
The battle lasted for seven days. This vic¬ 
tory arrested the progress of the Mohamme¬ 
dan arms in Europe. 

Battle of Hastings, A. D. 1066, in which 
Harold, commanding the English army, was 
defeated by William the Conqueror, of Nor¬ 
mandy. 

Joan of Arc’s victory over the English at 
Orleans, 1429. She led 10,000 men to Or¬ 
leans, entered the city with supplies, and 
forced the English to raise the siege which 
they had maintained for six months. 

The defeat of the Spanish Armada by the 
English, 1588. 

Battle of Lutzen, 1632, in which Gustavus 
Adolphus was killed. 


70 Concise Information. 

Battle of Blenheim, 1704, in which the 
French and Bavarians, under Marshal Tallard, 
were defeated by the English and their allies, 
under Marlborough. 

Battle of Pultowa, 1709, in which Charles 
XII, of Sweden, was defeated by the Russians 
under Peter the Great. In less than two hours 
the Swedish army was ruined, and Charles 
sought shelter in Turkey. 

The Victory of the Americans over Bur- 
goyne at Saratoga, 1777. 

Battle of Valmy, 1792, in which an in¬ 
vading army of Prussians, Austrians and 
Hessians, under the command of the Duke 
of Brunswick, were defeated by the French, 
under Dumouriez. 

Great Naval Battle of Trafalgar, 1805. 
The English, under Lord Nelson, defeated the 
French and Spanish. This destroyed the 
hopes of Napoleon as to a successful invasion 
of England. Lord Nelson was killed. 

Battle of Waterloo, 1815, in which the 
French under Napoleon were defeated by the 
allied armies of Russia, Austria, Prussia, and 
England, under the Duke of Wellington. 

Battle of Gettysburg, 1863, in which the 
Confederates, under Lee, were defeated by the 
Union forces, under Meade. 

Battle of Sedan, 1870, in which 80,000 


Concise Information. 71 

French surrendered. Napoleon III yielded 
his sword to King William, of Germany, and 
received as his residence the Castle of Wil- 
helmshohe. 

Singular Names of Battles. 

The Tearless Battle. —An engagement 
between the Lacedemonians and the Arcadi¬ 
ans, B. C. 388, in which the latter were 
defeated with great slaughter, while not one 
Spartan fell. Hence, says Plutarch, it was 
“ known by the name of the Tearless Battle.” 

Battle of Spurs. —A name given to the 
battle of Courtrai, 1302, the first great en¬ 
gagement between the nobles and the burghers, 
which, with the subsequent battles of Ban¬ 
nockburn, Crecy, and Poictiers, decided the 
fate of feudalism. In this encounter the 
knights and gentlemen of France were en¬ 
tirely overthrown by the citizens of a Flemish 
manufacturing town. The whole army was 
annihilated; and when the spoils were gath¬ 
ered, there were found 4,000 golden spurs to 
mark the extent of the knightly slaughter, 
and give a name to the engagement. 

Battle of the Herrings. —A name given 
to an engagement (1429) in which an English 
general, at the head of 1,500 men, gained a 
victory over 6,000 Frenchmen near Orleans, 


72 Concise Information. 

and brought a convoy of stores to the English 
camp before that place. The stores com¬ 
prised a large quantity of herrings. 

Battle of the Giants. —A name given to 
the battle of Melegnano, 1515, in which 
Francis I of France fought against the 
Swiss, who were led by the Duke of Milan. 
Francis lost 8,000 of his best troops, but 
displayed extraordinary generalship and ac¬ 
quired extensive fame. 

Battle of the Nations. —A name given 
to the battle of Leipsic, 1813, one of the 
greatest and most bloody battles of modern 
times, on account of the various nationali¬ 
ties, French, Austrian, Russian, Prussian, 
&c., which were there represented. 

Battle-field of Nations, Plain of Esdraelon, 
north-west of Jerusalem. The main body of 
the plain is a triangle. It has been a battle¬ 
field for over 3,000 years. In this plain, near 
Mt. Tabor, the French, under General Kleber, 
sustained the assaults of the Turks for half a 
day, and were succored by Napoleon. 

Great battle-field in European wa r s, Bel¬ 
gium. 

A battle upon the river Halys, B. C. 585, 
was interrupted by a total eclipse of the sun. 
Both armies retired under dismal forebod¬ 
ings. 


Concise Information. 73 

Nicias, an Athenian general, lost his army- 
in Sicily, through the terror excited by an 
eclipse of the moon, B. C. 413. 

Crowns of Different Nations. 

Austria. —The crown of the Austrian Em¬ 
pire dates back to the time of the Emperor 
Rudolph II, who died about 1612. 

France. —The crown made for Napoleon 
I when he was proclaimed Emperor of France 
in 1804, is remarkable for its exquisite design 
and workmanship. 

Germany.— The cro ( wn of the German Em¬ 
pire still retains some of the principal of the 
old crowns of the Roman German Empire. 
During the middle ages, the German emper¬ 
ors w r ere thrice crowned, receiving the Ger¬ 
man crown at Aix-la-Chapelle, the iron 
crown of Lombardy, at Milan, and the 
crown of the Holy Roman Empire, at Rome. 

Great Britain. — The English crown 
made for the coronation of Charles II served 
for many succeeding sovereigns. But in 
1838, by order of Queen Victoria, a new 
State crown was made, in which the jewels of 
the older crowns were incorporated. Esti¬ 
mated value, $600,000. It weighs a little 
over 39 ounces troy. 

Holy Roman Empire.— The oldest emblem 


74 Concise Information. 

of imperial rule extant is the crown of the 
Holy Roman Empire—also called the crown 
of Charlemagne. He was crowned Emperor 
of the Western or Roman Empire in the year 
800. 

Lombardy. —The Iron Crown of Lombar¬ 
dy derives its name from a slender inner cir¬ 
clet, which, according to tradition, is made 
from a nail taken from the cross on which 
Christ was crucified. With it not far from 
40 Lombard kings have been crowned. In 
1805, Napoleon I, placed it on his head, and 
pronounced a woe to him that touched it. 

Russia. —The treasures of the Russian Em¬ 
pire are guarded night and day by armed of¬ 
ficials. Among them is the imperial crown, 
which was made in the reign of Catharine II, 
and used for the first time at the coronation 
of her son Paul I. Russia preserves eight, 
crowns of provinces conquered at various 
times and joined to the Empire. The most 
important among them are the crown of Po¬ 
land, which is similar in form to the impe¬ 
rial crown of Russia; and the crown of Fin¬ 
land, which was ceded to Russia by Sweden. 
The Emperor has the title of Czar of Poland 
and Grand Duke of Finland. 

Tiara of the Pope.— The distinguishing 
miter of the Popes was, at first, a high conical 


Concise Injormation. 


75 


cap, of white material, with a jewel-studded 
band. In the latter part of the twelfth cen¬ 
tury, Pope Alexander III changed the golden 
band into a crown; and in the fourteenth 
century Boniface VIII, added a second, and 
Urban VI, a third crown, so that the Papal 
Tiara, in its present shape, is a lofty, uncleft 
miter, encircled by three coronets rising one 
above another, surmounted by a ball and 
cross, and with ribbons at each side. 

Kings and Queens of England. 

Norman Line. 

William the Conqueror, commenced to 
reign A. D. 1066—reigned 21 years. 

William II, 1087— x 3 years. 

Henry I, 1100—35 years. 

Blois. 

Stephen, 1135—19 years. 

Plantagenets. 

Henry II, 1154—35 y ears - 

Richard I, 1189—10 years. 

John, 1199—17 years. 

Henry III, 1216—56 years. 

Edward I, 1272—35 years. 

Edward II, 1307—20 years. 

Edward III, 1327—50 years. 

Richard II, 1377—22 years. 


76 Concise Information. 

Lancaster. 

Henry IV, 1499—14 years. 

Henry V, 1413—9 years. 

Henry VI, 1422—2 years. 

York. 

Edward IV, 1461—22 years. 

Edward V, 1483—2 months. 

Richard III, 1483—2 years. 

Tudor. 

Henry VII, 1485—25 years. 

Henry VIII, 1509—37 years. 

Edward VI, 1547—6 years. 

Mary, 1 5 5 3—5 y ears - 
Elizabeth, 1558—45 years. 

Stuart. 

James I, 1603—22 years. 

Charles I, 1625—24 years. 

Commonwealth, 1649—11 years. 

Charles II, 1660—25 years. 

James II, 1685—4 years. 

William and Mary, 1689—Mary died in 
1694; William in 1702. 

Anne, 1702—12 years. 

Brunswick. 

George I, 1714—13 years. 

George II, 1727—33 years. 

George III, 1760,—His mind gave way in 


Concise Information . 77 

1810, and the appointment of a Regent be¬ 
came necessary. This office devolved on 
his eldest son, who held it until the death of 
his father, in 1820, when he ascended the 
throne as George IV. 

George IV, 1820—10 years. 

William IV, 1830—7 years. 

Victoria, 1837. 

High Structures. 

Washington Monument, 555 feet; Cologne 
Cathedral, 510; Pyramid of Cheops, 480; 
St. Nicholas Church, Hamburg, 473; Stras- 
burg Cathedral, 468; St. Peter’s, Rome, 457; 
St. Stephen’s, Germany, 441; Cathedral of 
St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s, St. Petersburg, 
434; St. Isaac’s Cathedral, St. Petersburg, 
419; Salisbury Spire, England, 404: St. 
Paul’s, London, 365; Cathedral of Seville, 
Spain, 360; Cathedral of Utrecht, Holland, 
356; Cathedral of Milan, 355; Capitol at 
Washington, 307 ; Trinity Church, New York, 
284; Column of Delhi, Hindostan, 262; 
Porcelain Tower, Nankin, China, 260; Bun¬ 
ker Hill Monument, 221; Leaning Tower, 
Pisa, 179; Trajan’s Pillar, Rome, 151. Au¬ 
thorities differ as to the height of some of the 
above structures. 


78 


Concise Information. 


General Councils. 

Jerusalem, A. D. 51; Arles, 314; Nice, 
325; Constantinople, 337; Rome, 342; Sar¬ 
dis, 347; Constantinople, 381; Ephesus, 431; 
Chalcedon, 451; Constantinople, 553 and 
681; Nice, 787; Constantinople, 870; Rome, 
1123, 1139, 1179 and 1215; Lyons, 1243 
and 1274; Vienna, 1312; Pisa, 1409; Con¬ 
stance, 1414; Basle, 1431; Rome, 1512- 
17; Trent, 1545-63; Rome, 1869-70.. 

Ancient and Modern Geographical 


Names. 

Ancient. Modern. 

Britannia, or Albion, .... Great Britain 

Caledonia,. Scotland 

Crete,.Candia 

Dacia, . . . Part of Hungary and of Turkey 
Gallia, .... France and the Netherlands 
Germania, . Germany, north of the Danube 

Hellespont,.Dardanelles 

Helvetia,.Switzerland 

Hibernia,.Ireland 

Hispania,. Spain 

Illiricum,.Part of Austria 

Londinium,.London 

Lusitania,.Portugal 

Lutitia,.Paris 

Mauritania, ... . . Algiers, Morocco, &c 













Concise Information. 


79 


Numidia,.Tunis, Algiers 

Pannonia, . Part of Austria and of Hungary 

Sarmatia,.Poland, part of Russia 

Scandinavia,.Sweden and Norway 

Scythia, . . . ... . Siberia and Tartary 






8o 


Concise Information . 


HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY AND GEOG¬ 
RAPHY. 


Aaron, the first high priest of the Jewish 
nation, was the brother of Moses. From 
Aaron to Phannius, when Jerusalem was de¬ 
stroyed by the Romans—a period of 1370 
years—there were about 80 high priests. 

Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, 
was born at Ur of Chaldees, B. C., 1996. 
In his 75th year he emigrated to Canaan. 
Removing from place to place for water and 
pasturage, he was driven by a famine into 
Egypt. Returning he spent the remainder 
of his days in Canaan, and was buried in a 
cave near Hebron—about 20 miles from Jeru¬ 
salem—where his tomb is still shown. He 
was rich in flocks and herds, and had hun¬ 
dreds of persons in his employ—319 of whom 
were able to bear arms. 

Africa is the least known of the great di¬ 
visions. Area, 10,968,000 square* miles— 
about one third of the Old World. In its 
natural features it differs widely from the 
other divisions. It is the only continent 



Concise Information. 81 

which lies equally to the north and south of 
the equator. Africa is least disturbed by vol¬ 
canic action. Earthquakes are almost un¬ 
known. Its coast line is very regular and 
unbroken, presenting few bays and peninsu¬ 
las. There are many islands near the coast. 
Madagascar is the largest—1,000 miles long, 
and about 250 broad. St. Helena is the 
island to which Napoleon was banished. 
The Nile is one of the oldest of historical 
rivers. The explorations of recent years 
have considerably changed the comparative 
rank of the great rivers of the world. The 
latest estimate makes the Nile 4,000 miles 
long, nearly 1,000 miles longer than the Am¬ 
azon. 

Alexander, king of Macedon, surnamed 
the Great, the son of Philip and Olympius, 
was born at Pella, B. C. 356, and succeeded 
his father B. C. 336. Two years afterward 
he crossed the Hellespont (now Dardanelles) 
to carry out the plans of his father, and exe¬ 
cute the mission of Greece to the civilized 
world. He soon conquered Western Asia, 
and in the following year the fate of the East 
was decided at Issus. Tyre and Gaza were 
the only cities in Western Syria which offered 
Alexander any resistance, and these were 
reduced and treated with unusual severity, 

6 


82 


Concise Information. 


B. C. 332. Egypt next submitted to him, 
and in B. C. 331 he founded Alexandria, 
which remains to the present day a monu¬ 
ment to his life and work. In the same year 
he finally defeated Darius, king of Persia. 
The next two years were occupied by Alex¬ 
ander in the consolidation of his Persian con¬ 
quests, and the reduction of Bactria. In 
B. C. 327 he crossed the Indus, penetrated 
to the Hydaspes, and was there forced by 
the discontent of his army to turn westward. 
He reached Susa, B. C. 325, and proceeded 
to Babylon, B. C. 324, which he chose as 
the capital of his empire. In the next year 
(B. C. 323) he died there from the effects of 
intemperance in the midst of his gigantic 
plans ; and those who inherited his conquests 
left his designs unachieved and unattempted. 
He died in his 33d year. 

Alexandria, the Greek, Roman, and 
Christian capital of Egypt, was founded by 
Alexander the Great, B. C. 332, who him¬ 
self traced the ground-plan of the city. It 
was peopled by colonies of Greeks and Jews. 
Alexandria rose rapidly to a state of prosper¬ 
ity, becoming the center of commercial inter¬ 
course between the East and the West, and 
in process of time was, in point, both of mag¬ 
nitude and wealth, second only to Rome 


Concise Information. 83 

itself. It was the chief grain port of Rome, 
and Egypt furnished that city with as high as 
20,000,000 bushels in a single year. The 
ancient city was about 15 miles in circuit, 
peopled by 300,000 free citizens and as 
many slaves. From the gate of the sea ran 
one magnificent street, 2,000 feet broad, 
through the entire length of the city, to the 
gate of Canopus, affording a view of the ship¬ 
ping in the port, whether north in the Med¬ 
iterranean, or south in the Mareotic lake. 
Another street of equal width intersected this 
at right angles, in a square a mile and a half 
in circumference. Upon the death of Alex¬ 
ander, whose body was deposited in this new 
city, Alexandria became the capital of Egypt, 
under the Ptolemies, and rose to its highest 
splendor. During the reign of the first three 
princes of this name, its glory was at the high¬ 
est. The most celebrated philosophers from 
the East, as well as from Greece and Rome, 
resorted thither for instruction ; and eminent 
men in every department of knowledge were 
found within its walls. Ptolemy Soter, the 
first of that line of kings, formed the muse¬ 
um, the library of 700,000 volumes, and sev¬ 
eral other splendid works. At the death of 
Cleopatra, B. C. 26, Alexandria passed into 
the hands of the Romans; and after having 


84 Concise Information. 

enjoyed the highest fame for nearly one 
thousand years, it submitted to the arms of 
the Caliph Omar, A. D. 646. 

Alphabet. —The Babylonian and Assyrian 
characters represented, as a general thing, 
syllables rather than sounds. The Egyptians 
developed the germ of the alphabet; but the 
ancient Phenicians were the inventors of the 
first perfect alphabet. In 1868, about 40 
miles southeast from Jerusalem, there was 
found an inscription on a stone—called the 
Moabite stone—which is the most ancient 
specimen of alphabetical writing known. The 
words are divided by points, and the text 
into verses by vertical strokes. The inscrip¬ 
tion is over 2,700 years old. Hebrews, Ara¬ 
bians and Assyrians write from right to left. 
The Phenicians wrote at one time from right 
to left, then from left to right, alternately; 
and the Greeks at first adopted the same 
method, but afterward finding it more con¬ 
venient to write from left to right, this be¬ 
came the practice, in which they have been 
followed by all European nations. The letters 
of the English alphabet, with the exception 
of O, have undergone great changes during 
the past 2,600 years. The smallest alphabet 
contains less than 20 letters, the largest over 


Concise Information. 85 

200. Italic letters were invented in 1501. 
They resemble the handwriting of Petrach. 

Amazon.— This stream gathers its head¬ 
waters within a hundred miles of the Pacific 
Ocean, and facing eastward rushes over an 
extent of nearly 3,000 miles before it reaches 
the Atlantic, draining the Andes slope for a 
stretch of 2,000 miles; receiving in its sweep 
across the country, large tributaries, soon 
cutting its channel to a depth of 60 feet, it 
plows deeper and deeper, until near the sea 
it becomes over 100 feet deep. When it 
reaches the ocean it is 150 miles wide. It 
throws its gathered forces against the ocean 
tides and the resistless current sweeps on. 
Far out at sea sailors dip up fresh water. The 
tides are felt over 400 miles up the river, but 
the current outruns it, and makes its influence 
felt many miles from the shore. It repels, or 
at least overlays, the ocean to a distance of 
more than 150 miles. 

America has a greater length from north 
to south than any other continent, and yet 
no part of its soil is so far from the ocean as 
the central regions of Asia and Africa. The 
interior of America is penetrated by large 
rivers greatly surpassing those of the Old 
World in magnitude, and still more in the 
facilities they present for enabling the re- 


86 Concise Information . 

motest inland districts to communicate with 
the sea. In the formation of North and 
South America there is a remarkable resem¬ 
blance. Both are broad in the north and 
contract towards the south, till they end, the 
one in a narrow isthmus, and the other in a 
narrow promonotory. Each has a lofty chain 
of mountains near its western coast, with a 
lower ridge on the opposite side; each has 
one great central plain. In their climate, 
vegetable productions, and animal tribes, the 
two regions are very dissimilar. Nine tenths 
of North America lies under the temperate 
zone. America has some of the highest table 
lands on the globe. The climate is much 
colder than that of other continents under 
the same latitude. It contains the largest 
lakes, longest rivers, most extensive prairies, 
and has a greater extent of sea coast than any 
other continent. 

Ararat. —Europeans have given the name 
Ararat exclusively to the mountain which is 
called Agri Dagh, that is Steep Mountain, by 
the Turks, and Kuh-i-Nuh, that is Noah’s 
Mountain, by the Persians. It rises imme¬ 
diately out of the plain of the Araxes, and 
terminates in two conical peaks, named the 
Great and Less Ararat, about seven miles dis¬ 
tant from each other; the former of which 


Concise Information . 87 

attains an elevation of 17.210 feet above the 
level of the sea, and about 14,000 feet above 
the plain of the Araxes, while the latter is 
lower by 4,000 feet. The summit of the 
higher is covered with snow for about 3,000 
feet. It was first ascended in 1829 by Parrot. 
Arguri, the only village known to have been 
built on its slopes, was the spot where, ac¬ 
cording to tradition, Noah planted his vine¬ 
yard. Lower down, in the plain of Araxes, 
is the town of Nachdjevan (the Place of De¬ 
scent,) which is believed to mark the spot 
where the patriarch first settled on quitting 
the ark. The whole country is full of tradi¬ 
tionary stories relative to Noah’s ark and the 
flood. For years Ararat has been the great 
boundary stone between the Empires of Rus¬ 
sia, Turkey, and Persia. 

Asia is the largest and most populous divi¬ 
sion of the globe—nearly one third in area, 
and over one half in population. It contains 
large rivers, vast plains and lofty mountains 
—the highest in the world. Here is where 
some of the earliest germs of world-civiliza¬ 
tion sprang up and were nursed, and where 
the idea of universal empire had its origin 
and first realization. It is remarkable as 
having been the scene of many of the most 
important events that the history of the 


88 


Concise Information. 


world furnishes. It was the cradle of the 
human race, and the ancient seat of Chris¬ 
tianity, civilization, the arts, science, and 
commerce. 

Asia Minor. —The term Asia Minor was 
first used in the fourth century. To the 
east of Smyrna is a region called the Burnt 
District, because it shows such striking marks 
of extinct volcanoes. Asia Minor contains 
a great number of salt lakes and marshes, 
separated by fertile valleys. 

Athens, the chief city of Attica, in Greece, 
situated on the Saronic Gulf, about four 
miles from the coast. The city was in a 
plain extending to the sea on the south-west, 
where it had three ports, the passage to 
which was defended by long and broad walls. 
Several rocky hills rose in the plain, the larg¬ 
est of which was the citadel, or Acropolis. 
Around this the city was built, most of the 
buildings spreading toward the sea. The 
top of the hill was nearly level, about 800 
feet long from east to west, and 400 wide 
from north to south. The Acropolis was the 
center of the architectural splendor of Athens. 
It was covered with the temples of gods and 
heroes; and contained the finest productions 
of the architect and sculptor, in which the 
whiteness of the marble was relieved by 


Concise Information. 89 

brilliant colors, and rendered still more daz¬ 
zling by the transparent clearness of the 
Athenian atmosphere. The only approach 
to it was from the Agora or Market on its 
western side. At the top of a magnificent 
flight of marble steps, 70 feet broad, stood 
the Propylaea. They were entirely of mar¬ 
ble, and covered the whole of the western 
end of the Acropolis, having a breadth of 
168 feet. On passing through the Propylaea 
all the glories of the Acropolis became visible. 
The chief building was the Parthenon, the 
most perfect production of Grecian archi¬ 
tecture. It stood on the highest part of the 
Acropolis, near its center. It was entirely- 
of marble, and adorned with the most exqui¬ 
site sculptures. The chief wonder of the 
Parthenon was the colossal statue of the god¬ 
dess executed by Phidias. The Acropolis was 
adorned with another colossal figure of 
Athena, in bronze. It stood in the open 
air, nearly opposite the Propylaea, and with 
its pedestal, was nearly 70 feet high. Anoth¬ 
er magnificent building on the Acropolis was 
the temple of Erechtheus. At the foot of 
the Acropolis, on the one side was the music 
hall and the theater of Bacchus; on the 
other side was the Prytaneum. A small val¬ 
ley lay between the Acropolis and the hill on 


90 Concise Information. 

which the Areopagus held its sessions; it 
also separated the Areopagus from the Pnyx, 
a small rocky hill on which the general as¬ 
semblies of the people were held. Here the 
spot is yet pointed out from which the emi 
nent orators addressed the people. It is cut 
in the natural rock. In this vicinity also 
was the agora, or market place, an open 
square surrounded by beautiful structures ; 
while on every side altars, shrines, and tem¬ 
ples were seen, some of them exceedingly 
magnificent. This beautiful city was also 
celebrated for the military talents and the 
learning, eloquence and politeness of its in¬ 
habitants. It was the very flower of ancient 
civilization, its schools of philosophy were 
the most illustrious in the world, and its 
painters, sculptors and architects have never 
been surpassed. Some of the greatest men 
that ever lived were Athenians. 

Atlantic. —Although the second ocean in 
size, yet the greatest number of streams and 
largest rivers flow into it. Ferro, one of the 
Canary islands, in the Atlantic ocean, was 
the most western land known to the ancients. 
In the Western Hemisphere the dividing line 
between the Atlantic and Pacific ocean is 
from Cape Horn southward. In the Eastern 
Hemisphere, from the Cape of Good Hope 


Concise Information. 91 

southward. The Atlantic, if drained, would 
be a vast plain, with a mountain ridge in the 
middle, running parallel with our coast. 
Another range crosses it from Newfoundland 
to Ireland, on top of which lies a submarine 
cable. The ocean is thus divided into three 
great basins. The tops of these sea mount¬ 
ains are two miles below* a sailing ship. 

Australia. —The largest island in the 
world—nearly as large as the United States. 
It was formerly called New Holland. For 
many years British convicts were transported 
to the south-eastern part of the island. This 
practice was discontinued in 1840. The 
vegetation is different from that of other 
countries. It is the home of the kangaroo. 

Baalbec. —The great temple at Baalbec is 
290 feet long and 160 wide. Its walls are 
massive. Three of its stones measure each 
from 63 to 67 feet in length, and are variously 
estimated from 12 to 17 wide, and from 9 to 
12 thick. These monstrous blocks have been 
lifted to the height of twenty feet and accu¬ 
rately fitted to their place in the wall. One 
in the quarry, hewn all round, excepting 
about one foot, is 69 feet long, 17 wide and 
14 deep. 

Balloons. — The first balloon ascension was 
made in France in 1783. The highest ascen- 


9 2 Concise Information. 

sion was made by two persons in England, 
on September 5, 1862—seven miles. At the 
height of 29,000 feet one of the men became 
insensible. During the siege of Paris, 1870- 
71, the balloon was extensively used. Many 
letters and several persons left the city in 
balloons. 

Banks. — The first bank established in 
modern times was the Bank of Venice, 1157. 
The Bank of England was chartered in July, 
i6 94 - 

Banyan. —The banyan is a native of India, 
and remarkable for its vast rooting branches. 
The branches send shoots downward, which, 
when they have rooted, become stems, the 
tree in this manner spreading over a great 
surface, and enduring for ages. 

Baobab. —The largest known tree in the 
world. The fruit of the tree has been named 
monkey-bread. It resembles a gourd, and is 
about 10 inches long. It contains a spongy 
substance paler than chocolate, and filled with 
abundant juice. The bark and leaves are 
used for many purposes by the negroes of 
Africa. In Abyssinia bees choose the baobab 
trees for their hives, and their honey derives 
from the tree a perfume and a taste which 
makes it to be much sought after by the 
natives. 


Concise Information. 


93 


Battering Rams. —In attacking the walls 
of a fort or city, the first step appears to have 
been to form an inclined plane or bank of 
earth, by which the besiegers could bring 
their battering rams and other engines to the 
foot of the walls. The ram was a long and 
solid beam, armed at one end with a metallic 
ram’s head, was suspended by the middle, 
and swung violently and repeatedly against 
the walls until a breach was made. Some¬ 
times the lower part was a wooden tower 
built upon wheels, and was worked by more 
than a hundred men ; while the upper part of 
the tower was filled with archers and slingers. 

Beards. —The early history of nations ex¬ 
hibits a bearded people. The Western Asi¬ 
atics always cherished the beard as the badge 
of the dignity of manhood. The Egyptians 
for the most part, shaved the hair of the face 
and head, though there are some instances 
to the contrary. The early Greeks began to 
use the razor about the time of Alexander, 
who commanded all his soldiers to shave, 
lest their beards should afford a handle for 
their enemies. This was a little more than 
300 years before the Christian era; and a few 
years after the habit of shaving was intro¬ 
duced among the Romans. The Gothic in¬ 
vaders of the Western empire revived the 


94 Concise Information . 

habit of wearing the beard. The Anglo- 
Saxons were a bearded race when William 
the Conqueror invaded England, and there¬ 
fore the Conqueror and his Normans ever 
after wore the chin smooth, in order to dis¬ 
tinguish them from the vanquished. The 
Boman or Western Church invariably es¬ 
poused the cause of the razor, whilst the 
Greek or Eastern Church, as resolutely de¬ 
fended the cause of the beard. When Peter 
the Great determined to civilize his Russian 
subjects, one of the means which he consid¬ 
ered indispensable was the use of the razor; 
he therefore commanded his soldiers to shave 
everyone who refused to do it himself. 

Bells. —The invention of bells is by some 
attributed to the Egyptians, and it is certain 
that they were always used to announce the 
festivities in honor of Osiris. Among the 
Jews, the high priest, on grand ceremonies, 
wore a kind of tunic ornamented with small 
golden bells. Bells were also known among 
the Persians, Greeks and Romans. It is 
said that Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, a city in 
Italy, introduced bells into the church to 
summon the people to divine worship. Large 
bells were not used before the sixth century. 
Small bells were used in Britain in the fifth 
century. According to Bede, large bells 


Concise Information. 95 

were employed in A. D. 680 to call congre¬ 
gations to divine service. Formerly the 
towers of churches were not constructed 
solely for the use of bells, but partly to direct 
the weary and benighted traveler to a place 
of human habitation; for which purpose 
lights were frequently burnt in them during 
the darkest nights. The largest bell is the 
famous Moscow bell, which was cast by the 
order of the Empress Anne, in 1653. It is 
19 feet high and measures around the margin 
64 feet. Estimated weight, 443,772 pounds. 
It was broken before it was suspended, and 
now forms the dome of a chapel made by 
excavating the space below it. It was raised 
in 1837. England has been called the 
“ Ringing Island ” on account of the music 
of its many bells. 

Bethlehem is one of the oldest towns of 
Palestine. It is spoken of in the time of 
Jacob, over 3,600 years ago. It was the 
birth-place of David. Bethlehem is pleasantly 
situated upon a hill six miles south by west 
of Jerusalem. Here the Emperor Hadrian, 
earnest in his attempt to root out “the new 
heresy,’’ raised a statue and a shrine to a 
heathen god, and ordained a series of splen¬ 
did ceremonials. The statue, according to 
Jerome and Eusebius, was destroyed some 70 


96 Concise Information. 

years later by the Empress Helena, mother 
of Constantine, who erected over the grotto 
wherein the Saviour, it is supposed, was born, 
a splendid church, A. D. 327, which is still 
extant. The church has separate chapels for 
the Latins, Greeks, and Armenians, that of 
the Greeks being particularly rich in orna¬ 
ments of gold and silver. In a grotto be¬ 
neath the church is shown the reputed spot 
of the nativity, marked by a white marble 
slab, on which is a large silver gilt star. Over 
it is a small altar, and suspended from the 
ceiling are a number of elegant gold and silver 
lamps, the gift of Christian sovereigns of 
Europe. The houses of Bethlehem are built 
of white limestone; they are square in form, 
and are ornamented with small domes. The 
streets are few and narrow. The whole town 
has an appearance of comfort. Half a mile 
north is the spot pointed out by tradition as 
Rachel’s tomb, and three miles south-west of 
Bethlehem are the Pools of Solomon, which 
for ages supplied the town and Jerusalem 
with water. 

Birds. —The eagle, raven, swan, and par¬ 
rot, have been known to live upwards of 100 
years. 

Books were made and read thousands of 
years ago, and multitudes of authors have 


Concise Information. 97 

flourished and been well known in all the 
centuries since the first historical record was 
written. Three thousand years ago litera¬ 
ture flourished in the ancient cities of Nin¬ 
eveh and Babylon. The discovery, a few 
years ago, of the library of one of the kings 
of Assyria, B. C. 700, gives us a fair idea of 
the character of the books of that time. 
They consisted of tablets of clay, varying in 
size from an inch to nine inches long, cov¬ 
ered with characters, in some cases so small 
that they could only be read by the aid of 
the microscope. The books consisted of 
historical records, chronological and astro¬ 
nomical tables, religious treatises, grammars 
of various languages, works upon science, 
art, social regulations and customs, the laws 
and general literature. These inscriptions 
were stamped from engraved blocks, a fact 
which shows that large numbers of copies 
must have been made. The Chinese have a 
literature dating back more than 3,000 years. 
The books of this nation were made for many 
centuries of bamboo tablets. Two thousand 
years ago the imperial library of China con¬ 
sisted of many volumes on philosophy, poe¬ 
try, military affairs, mathematics, medicine, 
and classics. In the early days of Greek lit¬ 
erature, books were written upon papyrus, in 

7 


9 8 


Concise Information. 


rolls of from six inches to as many feet, and 
were copied by professional scribes. The 
inner bark of trees were also used, and some¬ 
times the leaves of the palm. Vellum, 
leather and parchment, differently prepared 
skins, were used later. In ancient Rome 
professional scribes were numerous, and papy¬ 
rus paper was cheap. Books were made fas¬ 
ter than they could be sold, to the great dis¬ 
gust of some of the noble Roman authors. 
The scribes whose manual labor produced 
these books were educated slaves. When a 
Roman author wished to give his book to the 
world, a copy was put into the hands of tran¬ 
scribers, by whom a certain number of copies 
were produced. From these transcribers the 
copies passed to a class of artists who orna¬ 
mented them with fanciful letters, margins, 
and terminations. The rolls were finished 
for use by book-binders; and last of all were 
offered for sale by booksellers. A list of 
books on sale was posted up at the inside of 
the door, with prices. In early times poets 
and authors recited their productions to the 
people in order to induce them to buy writ¬ 
ten copies. In Rome, toward the end of the 
Republic, no house was considered complete 
without a library, and booksellers carried on 
a thriving business. The form of ancient 


Concise Inj or motion. 


99 


books differed with the material from which 
they were composed. Tablets and leaves of 
metal and lead were of the same square 
form as our books of to-day ; when flexible 
materials like papyrus and parchment came 
into use it was found convenient to make 
them in the form of rolls. 

Bricks were usually made of clay, dried 
and hardened in the sun, though brick kilns 
were sometimes used. The tower of Babel 
was constructed of brick, cemented with bitu¬ 
men. The bricks used were often a foot 
square, and great numbers of them are found, 
both in Babylonia and Egypt, impressed with 
some royal or priestly stamp. On the monu¬ 
ments of Egypt, all the parts of this ancient 
task work are painted—the carrying, temper¬ 
ing and molding of the clay and the drying 
and piling of the bricks—all done by for¬ 
eigners under the order of taskmasters. An 
ancient brick pyramid of Egypt is supposed 
to have been built by the Israelites. The 
walls of Babylon were built of brick. The 
bricks were cemented with hot bitumen, and 
at every thirtieth row crates of reeds were 
stuffed in. They were usually one foot 
square and 3^ inches thick. 

Cannon. —The exact time when cannon 
were first used is not known. One of the 
earliest dates given is 1327. 


ioo Concise Information. 

Cereals. — Wheat has been cultivated 
from the earliest times. It is supposed to 
have originated in Tartary, and thence to 
have spread westward. It was introduced 
into South America by a Spanish lady. Rye 
was first known to the Persians. Barley was 
cultivated from the earliest ages, and is pro¬ 
bably a native of Tartary. It was introduced 
into Germany by the Romans. Oats is sup¬ 
posed to be a native of the Caucasus. It was 
not much cultivated by the ancients. Corn 
has been found wild in South America; and 
ears of corn have been discovered in the 
tombs of the ancient Peruvians. Buckwheat 
is probably a native of China. On the steppes 
of Central Asia and in Siberia it is extensively 
cultivated. Rotation of crops was well known 
in ancient times. 

Chinese Wall.— This gigantic wall was 
carried across hills, through deep valleys and 
along the tops of mountains for a distance of 
1,250 miles. There are four kinds of masonry 
in various parts of it; but the most important 
portion consists really of two parallel walls of 
burnt brick, the interval between them being 
filled up with clay, stone and brick-bats. 
The thickness at the base is 25 feet, and at 
the top 15, while a parapet of five feet makes 
the full height 20 feet. Towers occur at in- 


Concise Information. ioi 

tervals of 300 feet. These are 40 feet square 
at the base and 30 at the top, which is 37 
feet, and in some instances 50 feet from the 
ground. Earth enclosed in brick-work 
forms the mass of the wall; but for more 
than half its length it is little else than a heap 
of gravel and rubbish. 

Christmas is first mentioned in history 
about A. D. 180. There was for a long time 
no uniformity in the date, which was held 
variously from January to May. One of the 
first references to this day is a story of the 
age of persecution. When Dioclesian was 
Emperor of the Roman world, between 284 
and 305, on one occasion while holding his 
court at Nicodemia, he learned that the 
Christians of the neighborhood, with their 
children, had assembled in their church to 
celebrate the birth of Christ. He ordered 
the doors to be closed, and the church to be 
set on fire. His soldiers stood around to 
keep the sufferers within the burning build¬ 
ing, until the church and the Christians fell 
into the flames together. About 380 the 
25th of December was finally fixed upon by 
the European churches, and was accepted by 
those in the East. Even in rude times Christ¬ 
mas has had the power to mitigate the feroci¬ 
ties of war. At the siege of Orleans, in 1428, 


102 Concise Information . 

the solemnities and festivities of Christmas 
gave a short interval of repose. The English 
lords requested of the French commanders 
that they might have a night of minstrelsy 
with trumpets and clarions. This was granted, 
and the horrors of war were suspended by 
melodies which were thought to be delightful. 

Colors. —Primary colors, red, yellow and 
blue. White and black are not regarded as 
colors; the former, which represents light, 
being composed of all colors ; and the latter, 
which represents darkness, the absence of all 
colors. 

Colosseum. —The Colosseum was erected 
for gladiatorial shows by the labor of 15,000 
men for 10 years. It was 620 feet long 
and 513 broad ; with an arena 290 feet by 
180, surrounded by tiers on tiers of seats, 
the upper and outer circle being 160 feet 
from the ground. The vast amphitheater is 
said to have contained seats for 87,000 spec¬ 
tators. The arena was the scene of many a 
conflict of martyrs with wild beasts; and 
its sands drank the blood of thousands of un¬ 
resisting victims, men, women and children, 
who met a violent death. There is a legend 
that in former days whenever a handful of the 
arena sand was pressed, blood oozed out. 
The Colosseum is now in ruins. It is a sin- 


Concise Information. 103 

gular fact that a number of flowers grow 
within its walls which blossom nowhere else 
under the Roman sky. Prof. Sabastian enu¬ 
merated 260 principal species of flowers grow¬ 
ing in and upon the Colosseum, while Dr. 
Deakin, an English physician, has brought 
the total number up to 460. 

Columbus. — Christopher Columbus was 
born near Genoa, about 1436. His family 
was of humble origin, but his father, a woolen 
manufacturer, was in sufficiently easy circum¬ 
stances to send him to the University of 
Pavia, where he studied grammar, Latin, ge¬ 
ography, astronomy and navigation. At 14 
he left school and went to sea, and by the 
age of 40 he had sailed to many parts of the 
known world. He was looked upon as a 
thoroughly competent mariner. His life for 
many weary years was a checkered one. On 
the 17th of April, 1492, when Columbus was 
in his 56th year, and 18 years after he had 
conceived the project of reaching the East 
Indies by sailing westward around the globe, 
the treaty with the king of Spain was signed. 
The dignity of high admiral was to belong 
to Columbus and to descend to his heirs 
and successors; he was named viceroy and 
governor of the new possessions which he 
hoped to conquer in the rich countries of 


104 Concise Information. 

Asia, and one tenth of the precious stones, 
gold and merchandise which he might ac¬ 
quire was to be his. Three caravels—half 
decked vessels of small tonnage—were equip¬ 
ped, and with 120 men, he set sail on Friday, 
August 3, 1492. On October 12, 1492, he 
discovered the island of San Salvador—one 
of the Bahama islands. After an absence of 
seven months and a half he returned to Spain 
and was highly honored. He made three 
more voyages to the New World, in one of 
which he discovered the continent of Amer¬ 
ica, though he himself never knew it. He 
was the victim of foul plots and base treach¬ 
ery, and was sent home to Spain in chains. 
In a letter to his son he said : “ I have no 
home but an inn ; and for the most times 
have nothing with which to pay my bills.” 
He died on 20th of May, 1506. He was 
buried in Spain, but afterward his body was 
removed to San Domingo, from which place 
it was again removed to the cathedral of Ha¬ 
vana, in the island of Cuba. 

Condor. —The largest of known flying 
birds. It is a native of South America. 
They inhabit the elevated parts of the Andes, 
from 10,000 to 15,000 feet above the level of 
the sea, where they breed, making no nests, 
but laying their eggs on the bare rocks. 


Concise Information. 105 

The height to* which they can soar in the 
air exceeds that of any other bird. 

Confucius. —A celebrated Chinese sage, 
born B. C. 551. Over 80,000 persons claim 
descent from him. 

Cross. —The cross has been used as a sym¬ 
bol in art and religion for many centuries. 
Many ancient nations looked upon it as a 
holy symbol. It is figured on Egyptian coins 
of the time of the Ptolemies. Historians of 
the fourth and fifth centuries refer to the dis¬ 
covery of the sign of the cross in the temple 
of Serapis, and which was regarded by the 
Egyptians as emblematic of the future life. 
There are many forms of the cross. In re¬ 
ligious processions a single cross is carried 
before a bishop, a double one before a cardi¬ 
nal or archbishop, and a triple one before a 
Pope. Cathedrals and churches are often 
built in the form of a cross. In many Euro¬ 
pean countries it is very common to see large 
crosses erected in places of public concourse, 
for purposes of worship, or to commemorate 
some event. The famous Charing Cross, 
London, derives its name from its being one 
of the places where King Edward set up a 
cross to mark where the body of his queen, 
Eleanor, rested during the progress of the 
funeral cortege to Westminster. Formerly 


106 Concise Information. 

English coins bore upon their obverse the 
sign of the cross. It is related of the Synod 
of Chalcedon (A. D. 451) and other oriental 
synods, that the bishops who could not write 
their names affixed the mark of the cross in¬ 
stead of them; and this is common at the 
present day in the case of persons who cannot 
write. A favorite subject during the middle 
ages was the representation of a vine cluster¬ 
ing and clinging round the tree of the cross. 
"The early Christians saw the form of the 
cross in a bird flying in the air, a ship sailing, 
and in the attitude of a person in prayer 
standing with arms extended. In the Cata¬ 
combs are many symbolical forms of the 
cross. One of the most frequent is a fish, 
emblematic of the waters of baptism. It was 
also a symbol of Christ himself—the initial 
letters of the title Jesus Christ, Son of God,, 
the Saviour, in Greek, forming the word 
ichthus, fish. Sometimes a dove, and some 
times the letters Alpha and Omega were re 
presented with the cross. The Constantine 
cross, which consisted of the Greek letters X 
and P, answering to our Ch and R, thus form¬ 
ing the initial letters of the word Christos, 
was a very common form of the cross in use 
among the early Christians. According to 
the received tradition, a luminous cross of 


Concise Information. 107 

this shape appeared in the heavens to confirm 
the wavering faith of Constantine, (A. D. 
312 ;) and he forthwith directed that this sign 
should be set upon the top of a long spear, 
crossed by another piece of wood. From this 
cross-piece depended a square purple banner, 
on which was the likeness of the Emperor. 
The whole formed the famous labarum borne 
at the head of the imperial armies.” The 
form of the cross is found in several letters of 
different alphabets. Many snow crystals 
present striking resemblances to crosses in 
some forms—three or four being seen in a 
single crystal. The same peculiarity is no¬ 
ticed in hail-stones. The crystals of a min¬ 
eral called cross-stone, when cut transversely, 
appear to consist of four white crystals placed 
so as to make a white cross, and set in a dark 
ground. The cruciform family of plants has 
the leaves or petals arranged in the form of a 
cross. The Southern Cross is a constellation 
composed of four stars in the Southern hem¬ 
isphere, in the form of a cross. 

Crusades. —During 200 years—the twelfth 
and thirteenth centuries—the most impor¬ 
tant events in European history had relation 
to a series of extraordinary expeditions 
known as the Crusades. This term is deriv¬ 
ed from the French word croisade (croix, 


io8 Concise Information . 

the cross,) which means war of the cross. 
The Crusades were undertaken by the West¬ 
ern nations ofEurope for the recovery of the 
Holy Land from the Saracens and Turks. 
From an early period in the history of Chris¬ 
tianity, believers from every part of the 
Christian world made pilgrimages to the 
Holy Land of Palestine. When the Turks, 
in the middle of the eleventh century, be- 
came masters of Asia Minor and Syria, the 
Christians, whether residents or pilgrims, 
were subjected to the most cruel treatment. 
The news of the cruelties perpetrated by the 
Turks on the Christians of Palestine produced 
a deep feeling of indignation throughout 
Western Europe, and aroused a strong de¬ 
sire to arrest the progress of the religion of 
Mohammed, and recover the Holy Land 
from Moslem desecration. This desire was 
roused into action by the enthusiasm of a 
monk called Peter the Hermit. He traveled 
over Italy and France, everywhere proclaim¬ 
ing the sacred duty of delivering the sepul¬ 
cher of Christ from the hands of the infidels. 
He was fluent of speech, and innumerable 
crowds of all ranks thronged cities and ham 
lets, churches and highways to hear him. 
At length the year 1096 was decided as the 
time for the departure of the Crusaders. 




Concise Information. 109 

They wore a red cross on the shoulder, to 
mark them as soldiers of the cross. They 
assembled on the eastern frontier of France, 
under the command of Peter the Hermit and 
Walter the Penniless. The several bands— 
men, women and children—amounting to 
more than 250,000, took the route through 
Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria and Thrace, 
but being without organization or provisions, 
they committed great devastation in the 
countries through which they passed and 
were mostly dispersed and exterminated by 
the Hungarian peasantry. Remnants of the 
bands crossed the Bosphorus at Constantino¬ 
ple, but were soon cut to pieces by the 
Turks. The next army, at least 600,000 
men, exclusive of women and priests, in six 
divisions, marched by different routes to 
Constantinople. The real nerve of the army 
consisted of the mailed cavalry—over 100,- 
000 men. The divisions made a junction in 
Asia Minor, and their numbers were increas¬ 
ed by the remnants of the preceding army, 
who, with Peter the Hermit himself, found 
their. way from various places of refuge to 
the general muster. The first place captured 
was Nice, in Asia Minor. In a direct charge 
at Doryleum, the Turkish cavalry was com¬ 
pletely overpowered, and 30,000 slain. This 


I IO 


Concise Infortnaiion. 


was probably one of the most tremendous 
cavalry battles ever fought. The Turks made 
the country through which the Crusaders 
were to pass a waste. The horses died in 
such numbers that 30,000 men were dis¬ 
mounted, and had to trudge along, with the 
weight of their armor, under a burning sun. 
Hundreds died every day. Antioch, the 
capital of Syria, was next besieged, and after 
seven months captured. During this time 
the Crusaders had to suffer the horrors of 
famine and pestilence. Their horses were 
either starved or killed for food, and of the 
100,000 horses with which the march was 
begun, only 2,000 remained. No sooner 
was Antioch captured than the Crusaders 
were in their turn besieged in that city by 
an army of 200,000 Mohammedans. A sec¬ 
ond and still more terrible famine was suffer¬ 
ed. But finally the Crusaders, by a bold 
rally, completely overthrew the besieging 
host. The way was now open to Jerusalem. 
The total force which advanced from Anti¬ 
och amounted to only 1,500 cavalry and 
20,000 foot soldiers, with about an equal 
number of unarmed pilgrims and camp fol¬ 
lowers. Jerusalem was taken after a siege of 
five weeks, July, 1099. After this victory 
many of the Crusaders went home. Jerusa- 


Concise Information . 111 

lem remained in the hands of Europeans un¬ 
til 1187. The second Crusade, numbering 
300,000 choice troops moved in 1147. Af¬ 
ter a series of battles, they finally reached 
Jerusalem, with a mere fraction of the army 
that had left Europe. The second Crusade 
closed in gloom, with the return of the Cru¬ 
saders to their own country. The news of 
the extinction of the kingdom of Jerusalem, 
1187, called forth the third Crusade. Eng¬ 
land, France and Germany united in this 
Crusade. The French and English kings 
transported their armies to Palestine by sea, 
while the German king marched overland 
with 60,000 cavalry and 100,000 infantry. 
The march through Europe into Asia Minor 
was a complete success. Unfortunately the 
king met his death while bathing in a stream 
in Cilicia. The expedition having lost its 
commander, everything fell into disorder, 
and before the Crusaders reached the bor¬ 
ders of Syria, their numbers had been re¬ 
duced to one tenth the original force. The 
remnant joined the French and English 
forces before Acre. After a siege of 23 
months, Acre surrendered to the Crusaders, 
1191. After the capture of Acre the king of 
France retired from the Crusade. The king 
of England remained, and continued the 


112 Concise Informatio n. 

struggle for some time with various success; 
but at last he agreed to a truce with Saladin. 
Several subsequent Crusades were undertaken 
—the last in 1270. Nearly all failed to ac¬ 
complish any great results. In 1212, 30,000 
children under the command of a boy set 
out for the Holy Land. In the same year 
20.000 boys and girls started for the same 
place. Many of them died, or strayed away. 
Those who set sail for Palestine were never 
heard of. The Crusades are said to have 
cost the lives of 2,000,000 men. 

Damascus is the oldest city in Syria, and 
one of the oldest in the world. Abraham 
lived nearly 2,000 years before Christ, and 
he tells us that “the steward of his house 
was Eliezar of Damascus.” Damascus is not 
only a very old city, but it has had much 
fewer changes than most other cities. Jeru¬ 
salem has been taken and destroyed many 
times. Damascus was destroyed but once— 
about 2,500 years ago. It was rebuilt soon 
after, and has been a city ever since. Present 
population about 150,000. 

David, shepherd boy, musician, poet, war¬ 
rior, and king 40 years. He died at the age 
of 70. He made Jerusalem the capital of his 
kingdom and greatly improved it. An im¬ 
mense amount of material for the building 


Concise Information. 113 

of the temple was prepared during David’s 
reign. 

Dead Sea.- —Arabic name, Bahr Lut, Sea 
of Lot. It is situated at the south-east corner 
of the Holy Land, and receives the waters of 
the Jordan from the north, and of several 
streams from the east. It is about 46 miles 
long, and eight or nine wide, and lies in a 
hollow between bare limestone cliffs, which 
rise on the west side from 1,200 to 1,500 feet 
above its surface, and on the east side 2,000 
feet or more. The general appearance of the 
region is dreary. No boat moves on its waters 
—no town or village, or even solitary house, 
is found on its borders. At a few points 
there are brooks or fountains of fresh water, 
which on their way to the sea pass through 
spots of verdure, the abode of birds in great 
numbers. The density of the water is so 
great that it is difficult to sink in it, and 
horses endeavoring to swim in it are rolled 
over on their side. It is clear as crystal, but 
exceedingly salt and bitter. The remarkable 
weight of the water is due to the very large 
quantity of mineral salts which it holds in 
solution. Each gallon of'the water, weigh¬ 
ing i2j^ pounds, contains nearly 3^ pounds 
of matter in solution—an immense quantity 
when sea water, weighing 10pounds per 

8 


114 Concise Information. 

gallon, contains less than half a pound. Of 
this 3 y$ pounds nearly one pound is common 
salt, about two pounds chloride of magne¬ 
sium, and less than half a pound chloride of 
calcium; the most unusual ingredient is 
bromide of magnesium, which exists in ex¬ 
traordinary quantity. The surface of the 
lake in 1848 was 1,316 feet below the Medi¬ 
terranean at Jaffa. Its depth, at about one 
third its length from the north end, is 1,308 
feet. The sea has no visible outlet. What 
becomes of the river Jordan that flows into it 
is a question that cannot be solved. 

Diving Bell.— The first mention of the 
diving costume is by Schott in 1664. The 
same author gives us the first mention of the 
diving bell. 

Earthquakes. —The concussions of earth¬ 
quakes are of three kinds ; the first being 
distinguished by a series of perpendicular, 
the second by horizontal or undulatory, and 
the third by rotary motions, following each 
other in rapid succession. The perpendicu¬ 
lar motions act from below upward ; as du¬ 
ring the destruction of Riobamba in Ecua¬ 
dor, in 1797, when the bodies of many per¬ 
sons were thrown from the town across a 
river to the top of a hill several hundred feet 
high. The horizontal motions act in an un- 


Concise Information . 115 

dulating manner, causing an alternate rising 
and sinking of the earth. The rotary or cir¬ 
cular motions are the most rare, but are the 
most destructive. They consist of whirling 
movements of the earth, whereby buildings 
without being overturned are twisted, parallel 
rows of trees deflected, and the positions of 
fields changed. In the great earthquake of 
Calabria in 1783, a plantation of mulberry 
trees was carried into the midst of a field of 
grain, and a plot of ground sown with lu¬ 
pines was borne into a vineyard. Several 
thousand cases of earthquakes have been re¬ 
corded. During many of them tracts of land 
have been raised or sunk. The most exten¬ 
sive elevation of land by means of earth¬ 
quakes took place on the western coast of 
South America in 1822. The shock was felt 
1,200 miles along the coast, and for more 
than 100 miles the coast was raised from 
three to four feet; and it is supposed that an 
area of 100,000 square miles was thus raised 
up. At Lisbon on the 4th of November, 
1755, a rumbling underground noise, like 
the rolling of carts, was heard, which gradu¬ 
ally increased, and after a few seconds, re¬ 
sembled the firing of heavy cannon. At 
this moment the first shock was felt, which 
leveled the Palace of the Inquisition and sev- 


116 Concise Information. 

eral churches. Three other shocks followed 
within the space of five minutes prostrating 
nearly all the remaining large buildings. 
Half an hour later the sea, rising 40 feet 
above high-water mark at the mouth of the 
Tagus, rushed upon the city with incredible 
speed, overflowing the lower streets, and 
hurling, bottom upwards a stone quay with 
3,000 people upon it who had fled thither for 
safety from the falling city. The wave re¬ 
treated as quickly as it came, returning three 
times, but at each time with less violence. 
By the earthquake and inundation 60,000 
persons perished; and to the horrors caused 
by these were added the ravages of fire. At 
Cadiz the sea rose 60 feet above its level, 
and rolled in a huge wave over the land, de¬ 
molishing the walls and fortifications on the 
ocean side. The highest mountains of Port¬ 
ugal were convulsed and rent asunder, and 
vast masses of rock hurled into the valleys. 
At Caraccas, in Venezuela, in 1812, in a few 
minutes the city was leveled to the ground, 
and 10,000 people buried beneath the ruins 
of the churches and houses. 

Easter.— If the exact time of our Saviour’s 
death was known there could be no doubt 
about the date of Easter, which regulates the 
movable holidays. It is known that the cru- 


Concise Information. 117 

cifixion occurred a short time after the vernal 
equinox, and immediately after a full moon. 
The question of fixing the period of Easter 
was first agitated at the Nicean Council, in 
the year 325. The Council decided that 
every year Easter should be celebrated on 
the Sunday after the first full moon which 
should occur upon, or next after, the 21st of 
March; and if the full moon happen on a 
Sunday, Easter-day is the Sunday after. 
Hence it follows that no full moon occurring 
before the 21st of March can be taken into 
account, and that Easter can never take 
place before the 22d of that month. The 
latest date possible is the 25th of April ; for 
should there be a full moon on the 20th of 
March, then the Paschal full moon will occur 
29 days later—that is, on the 18th of April; 
and should it so happen that that day were a 
Sunday, the celebration of Easter could only 
take place on the Sunday following—viz: 
the 25th. 

Embalming. — In Egypt certain persons 
were appointed by law to exercise the art of 
embalming as their peculiar business. When a 
dead body was brought to them, they pro¬ 
duced patterns of mummies in wood, imitated 
in painting, of which there were three kinds; 
the first was very expensive, and only used 


118 Concise Information. 

by the wealthy; the second was simpler and 
less costly, and the third was the cheapest. 
After selecting the pattern and settling the 
price, the parties retired, leaving the body 
with the embalmers. In preparing it accord¬ 
ing to the first method, they commenced by 
extracting the brain from the nostrils by a 
curved iron probe, partly cleaning the head 
by these means, and partly by pouring in 
certain drugs; then making an incision in the 
left side, they drew out all the entrails, except 
the heart and kidneys; having washed them 
in palm wine, they replaced them, and filling 
the cavity with pure myrrh, cassia and other 
fragrant substances, sewed it up again. This 
being done, the body was anointed repeatedly 
with oil of cedar, myrrh, cinnamon, etc., 
about 30 days, and was then put into niter 
for 40 days, by which process it was preserved 
from decay, retaining at the same time a life¬ 
like appearance. When the 70 days were 
over, they washed the body and wrapped it 
up entirely in bands of fine linen, sometimes 
1,000 yards in length, dipped in myrrh and 
closed with gum. It was then restored to the 
friends of the deceased. Recent investiga¬ 
tions indicate that heat must have been ap¬ 
plied to the corpses after they had been filled 
with some bituminous substance, and creosote 


Concise Information. 119 

generated and diffused through all the tissues. 
The reason that heat was not mentioned by 
the ancient authorities is supposed to be their 
desire to keep the process secret. The com¬ 
mon people were embalmed by means of bitu¬ 
men, a cheap material, and easily managed. 
With this the corpse and its envelopes were 
smeared, with more or less care and diligence. 
Sepulchers have been opened in which thou¬ 
sands of bodies had been deposited in rows, 
one on another, without coffins, preserved in 
this manner. The belief that after the lapse 
of ages the spirit would return and inhabit 
the same body, no doubt stimulated the Egypt¬ 
ians in their efforts to carefully embalm and 
preserve in tombs the bodies of their friends. 

Europe is the smallest and most populous 
in proportion to its size of the grand divi¬ 
sions. The high grade of its civilization 
makes it in many respects the most impor¬ 
tant as well as the most powerful of the great 
divisions of the globe. The southern part is 
milder than other parts of the world in the 
same latitude. From the numerous seas and 
bays which surround and indent its coast, 
Europe is well adapted to commerce. Its 
coast-line is more extensive in proportion 
to its size than that of any other great natu¬ 
ral division, and is estimated to measure not 


120 


Concise Information. 


less than 60,000 miles. Great Britain, 
France, Austria, Russia, and the Empire of 
Germany constitute “the Five Great Pow¬ 
ers” of Europe. 

Flowers. —Plants with white blossoms have 
a larger proportion of fragrant species than 
any others; next comes red, then yellow and 
blue, and lastly orange and brown. The 
flowers of spring are white and highly fra¬ 
grant ; those of summer are red and yellow, 
and less fragrant; those of autumn and win¬ 
ter are darker, and with less perfume. About 
100,000 species of flowering plants are known 
to botanists. 

Fruit. —Cherries come from Asia. When 
Lucullus, at an immense sacrifice of life and 
treasure, had overthrown Mithridates, he took 
from. his royal garden the cherry tree, and 
carried it in triumph to Rome. Planted in 
Italy, B. C. 68, in a few years it had been 
carried all over Europe. The peach is a fruit 
of Persia. It was taken first to Greece, and 
then to Italy; but it was a novelty in Rome 
in the first Christian century. Wolfe, the 
gardener of Henry VIII. brought it from 
Italy to England. Father Hennepin, in his 
voyage down the Mississippi, describes glow¬ 
ingly the peach trees which he saw on its low 
waters; the peach tree was then native to the 


Concise Information. 121 

southern portions of America, as it was to 
Persia. Apricots are an Arabic fruit. The 
inhabitants of the desert oasis gather and dry 
large quantities, which they bring into Egypt 
for sale. It was introduced into Italy about 
A. D. 60. It was taken to England at the 
same time as the peach, by Wolfe. Greece 
added to her plums those of Syria, Egypt 
and Persia; and the Romans not only pos¬ 
sessed themselves of the plums of all the 
known world, but employed their ingenuity 
in producing additional varieties. The dam¬ 
son takes its name from Damascus, from 
which it was brought B. C. in. The pear 
is a fruit of great antiquity. It grew natu¬ 
rally in Syria, Egypt and Greece, and was 
brought to Rome in the century preceding 
the Christian era. 

Gas was first used for lighting purposes in 
Cornwall, England, in 1792. The Gas 
Company of London was the first chartered, 
1810. In 1816 the Baltimore Gas Company 
attempted the manufacture of gas from tar. 
Boston, 1822; New York, 1823. 

Gospels. —It has been thought that as 
many as 60,000 copies of the Gospels were 
in circulation at the end of the second cen¬ 
tury. Gospels first used in taking oaths upon, 
A. D. 528. First used in judicial proceed¬ 
ings, about A. D. 600. 


122 


Concise Information. 


Greece, ancient name Hellas, was cele¬ 
brated for literature, art, science, philosophy 
and civilization. In the first periods of 
their history they were governed by mon- 
archs ; and there were as many kings as there 
were cities. The monarchical power gradu¬ 
ally decreased, and the love of liberty estab¬ 
lished the republican government; and no 
part of Greece, except Macedonia, remained 
in the hands of an absolute monarch. They 
gained many victories over the Pe r sians, and 
gradually penetrated into their territories. 
About B. C. 332, under Alexander the Great, 
they erected an empire of their own upon 
the ruins of the Persian. Some time after 
the death of Alexander it was divided into 
several parts. It fell under the power of the 
Romans B. C. 168. The dress of the 
Greeks was simple, without unnecessary cov¬ 
ering or useless display of ornaments. The 
women wore no head-coverings. In-doors 
the Greeks used no foot-covering; abroad 
they wore sandals, shoes, sometimes boots. 
Daily school-going was quite general; the 
boys alone went to school, however. The 
whole education of a Greek youth was divided 
into three parts—grammar, music and gym¬ 
nastics. Grammar included most of the rudi¬ 
mentary branches of education, while under 


Concise Information. 123 

the term music came all intellectual accom¬ 
plishments. The wealthiest sometimes' had 
their children taught by slaves and some of 
their philosophers were bondmen. 

Gulf Stream. —The waters of the gulf 
stream are of a dark indigo color. This 
ocean river flows in a northeasterly direction 
along the Atlantic, gradually widening its 
current and diminishing in velocity until it 
reaches the island and banks of Newfound¬ 
land, when its sweeps across the Atlantic and 
divides into two parts. “In mid-winter off 
the inclement coasts of the Atlantic, between 
Cape Hatteras and Newfoundland, ships 
beaten back from their harbors by fierce 
northwesters, until loaded down with ice and 
in danger of foundering, turn their prows to 
the eastward and seek relief and comfort in 
the gulf stream. A bank of fog rising like 
a wall, caused by the condensation of warm 
vapors meeting a colder atmosphere, marks 
the edge of the stream. The water suddenly 
changes from green to blue, the climate from 
winter to summer; and this change is so sud¬ 
den that when a ship is crossing the line a 
difference of 30 degrees of temperature has 
been marked between the bow and the stern. ” 
This stream inundates with its warm water 
the cold surface of the sea for thousands of 


124 


Concise Information . 


miles, and, borne by the winds to Europe, 
softens the rigor of its climate. The gulf 
stream was first noticed in 1512. 

Horses. —The horse is supposed to have 
been a native of Central Asia. He has figured 
in history from the earliest times. In the 
Scriptures we find them prominent in con¬ 
nection with chariots and warfare, and in the 
mythology of the Egyptians, Greeks and 
Romans, they are associated with deeds of 
strength and noble strife. In ancient times 
he was not regarded as a beast of burden, but 
rather ranked among the champions of nations. 
The cavalry of the Assyrians was regarded as 
the most formidable branch of their service. 
Solomon had in his own stalls 40,000 chariot 
horses, and his traffic in fine stock of that 
kind was extensive. The value of fine horses 
at that period averaged about $100. The 
Greeks were great admirers of fine and swift 
horses. Thessaly was famed for wealth, civili¬ 
zation and horsemanship, before the time of 
Homer. The people of Thessaly were pro¬ 
bably the first among the Greeks who ac¬ 
quired any skill as equestrians, and adapted 
the horse to the purposes of warfare ; whence 
arose the fable that Thessaly was originally 
inhabited by centaurs—an animal half man 
and half horse. The Olympic games of the 


Concise Information. 


I2 5 


-Greeks, in which feats in horsemanship and 
chariot-racing formed the leading attractions, 
were attended by the kings and highest classes 
from all parts of Greece and neighboring 
•countries. The games of Olympia formed a 
period in Greek history upon which their 
whole chronology rested, and from which 
period all other leading events were dated. 
'The Arabian horses are divided into two great 
branches—the Kadischi and Kochlain. The 
latter class are held exclusively as riding 
horses, and are valued at high rates. They 
are spoken of as exhibiting uncommon courage 
in the face of the enemy in battle, and the 
degree of intelligence they manifest on such 
occasions is truly striking. Often, when his 
rider has fallen in battle, the noble steed has 
carefully watched beside him until assistance 
has arrived, frequently neighing to attract 
attention to the spot. The horse occurs on 
some standards and coins of past periods as 
well as at the present day. The standards of 
early English kings bore the figure of a white 
horse. The number of horses in Russia is 
greater in proportion to the population than 
it is in the greatest horse region of the world. 
Russia has one horse to every three persons. 
Up to 1632 there were no horses in New 


126 Concise Information. 

England. Their introduction into New York 
occurred between 1633 and 1638. 

Human Race. — The population of the 
globe is estimated by some authorities at 
900,000,000, while others place it as high as 
1,400,000,000. Blumenbach divides the 
race into five varieties—Caucasian, white; 
Mongol, yellow; Malay, brown; American, 
red; and African, black. 

Caucasian .—The Caucasian race is so 
called because it is supposed to have had its 
origin amid the Caucasian Mountains; it is 
also termed the Indo-European, from its dif¬ 
fusion over India and Europe. This group 
extends from the Hindoos, on the Ganges, 
through south-western Asia to the Berbers and 
Copts, on the north coast of Africa, and 
throughout all Europe, except the Finns, 
Laplanders, Magyars, and Turks proper. 
Within the last few centuries it has spread 
from Europe throughout North and South 
America, and over South Africa. Australia 
and the islands of the sea. This race num¬ 
bers about 600,000,000. 

Mongolian .—Its Tartar tribes occupy the 
lofty plateaus and the bleak steppes of Asia 
that lie north of the Caspian and the Hima¬ 
laya range, with the entire line cf the Arctic 
Ocean, including the Lapps and Finns, in 


Concise Information. 127 

Europe, and the Esquimaux, in America, as 
extreme specimens. Socially and intellect¬ 
ually Japan and China are the nations which 
mark the height attained by its civiliza¬ 
tion. The Turks and the Magyars, though 
both are of Mongolian origin, have been 
so long amalgamated with Europeans as to 
be more identified with Western than East¬ 
ern civilization. The Mongolians number 
about 600,000,000. 

Malay .—They inhabit the Malayan penin¬ 
sula and the islands of the Indian and Pacific 
Oceans, from Madagascar on the west to 
Easter Island on the east, and from Formosa 
on the north to New Zealand on the south. 
In the midst of nature’s richest gifts, they 
fell into sloth, barbarism and piracy—even 
into cannabalism. There is now a general 
consent that this type and the American are 
modified forms of the Mongolian, which race 
exhibits a greater tendency to change and 
diversity, both in language and in tribal re¬ 
lations, than any other. Their number is 
about 30,000,000. 

American .—The American ranks next to 
the Caucasian in symmetry of body and 
daring spirit. He is fond of war and hunt¬ 
ing, and averse to agricultural pursuits. 
They are savages in North America. Some 


128 Concise Information. 

tribes have become civilized. In South 
America many of them are half-civilized ; 
but the great mass are sunk in the depths of 
barbarism. The Mexicans and Peruvians, at 
the time of the Spanish conquest, had at¬ 
tained a high state of civilization. Their 
mode of determining the length of the year 
was then more accurate than that of the 
European nations. The present number of 
the American group has been estimated at 
10,000,000. 

African .—The negroes proper are limited 
to the low and marshy coast-plains on the 
western as well as the eastern lowlands, and 
to the hot and moist river valleys of Africa. 
In the interior or table lands dwell a red¬ 
skinned race, which degenerates into the 
negro type, when exposed to the same cli¬ 
matic influence. Among the Africans great 
differences exist in respect to personal ap¬ 
pearance. Some tribes are of a goodly 
height and well proportioned ; others have 
awkward and ungainly figures and limbs. 
They number about 50,000,000. 

Jerusalem is situated on the central table¬ 
land of Judea, about 2,400 feet above the 
Mediterranean. From B. C. 1400 to A. D. 
70, the city was besieged no fewer than 17 
times ; twice it was razed to the ground, and 


Concise Information . 129 

on two other occasions its walls were leveled. 
In this respect it stands without a parallel in 
any city, ancient or modern. The greatest 
siege that it sustained was at the hands of 
the Romans under Titus, when it held out 
nearly five months, and when the city was 
completely destroyed, A. D. 70. Hadrian 
restored it as a Roman colony in A. D. 135, 
and banished the Jews, forbidding their re¬ 
turn on pain of death. He changed the 
name of the city to H^lia Capitolina, and did 
what he could to destroy all traces both of 
Judaism and Christianity. From this period 
the name H£lia became so common that the 
name Jerusalem was preserved only among 
the Jews and better informed Christians. In 
the time of Constantine it resumed its ancient 
name, which it has retained to the present 
day. Helena, the mother of Constantine, 
built two churches in Bethlehem and on Mount 
Olivet, about A. D. 326; and Julian, who, 
after his father, succeeded to the empire of 
his uncle Constantine, endeavored to rebuild 
the temple; but his design, and that of the 
Jews, whom he patronized, was frustrated, A. 
D. 363. Since then it has been subject to 
many masters. It now belongs to Turkey. 
The modern wall, built 1542, varies from 20 
to 60 feet in height, and is about two and a 


130 Concise Information. 

half miles in circuit. Within the city walls 
are seen narrow and often covered streets. 
The houses are of hewn stone, with few win¬ 
dows toward the streets. Their flat roofs are 
strengthened and ornamented with many small 
domes. The present population of Jerusalem 
is estimated at about 13,500 Jews, 7,000 Mo¬ 
hammedans, and 5,000 Christians. Many of 
the Jews were born in other lands, and have 
come here to die, in a city no longer their 
own. It is only as a purchased privilege that 
they are allowed to approach the foundations 
of the sacred hill where their fathers worshiped. 
Here they assemble every Friday, and more 
or less on other days, to weep and wail. One 
of the passages used in their lamentations is 
found in Isaiah 64: 9-12. Names—Salem, 
Jebus, Jerusalem, JEUa. Capitolina; present 
Arab name, El Khuds, “the Holy.’’ 

Jews, or Israelites, ancient name He¬ 
brews. Abraham, the founder of the Jewish 
nation, was born B. C. 1996. His property 
consisted mainly in vast flocks and herds. 
He spent the greater part of his life in the 
land of Canaan. His son and grandson, 
Isaac and Jacob, followed in his steps. Under 
Joseph, they settled in Egypt, and in course 
of time were enslaved by the Egyptians. 
They left Egypt under Moses, and after 40 


Concise Information . 131 

years of wanderings, he brought them to the 
border of the promised land, where he died. 
He was succeeded by Joshua, who conquered 
Canaan, after a warfare of seven years, and 
allotted it to the different tribes. From this 
time, for a period of over 300 years, they 
were governed by chiefs, judges or patriarchal 
rulers, until the time of Samuel, when the 
government was changed to a monarchy, and 
Saul anointed king. David was afterward 
king, and founded a family which continued 
to reign in Jerusalem until the entire country 
was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 
588—a period of over 400 years. Under 
David’s grandson—Rehoboam—ten tribes re¬ 
volted and formed a separate kingdom, that 
of Israel, between which and the kingdom of 
Judah there were irequent wars. At length 
the greater part of both nations were carried 
to Babylon, Media, etc. After 70 years of 
exile, a few colonies of Jews returned, and 
built another temple at Jerulalem, and at¬ 
tempted to re-establish their nation. After 
a lapse of about 500 years, during which time 
the nation passed through many struggles,, 
the Romans utterly destroyed Jerusalem, A. 
D. /o. Since that time, although Jerusalem 
has been rebuilt, the Jews have ceased to exist 
as an independent people; but are scattered 


132 Concise Information. 

among all the nations of the earth, where 
they retain their characteristic traits. 

Julius Caesar. —Caius Julius Caesar was 
born July 12, B. C. 100. His mother’s name 
was Aurelia. He was tall, with dark piercing 
eyes, a sallow complexion, large nose, lips 
full, features refined and intellectual, neck 
sinewy and thick. He was particular about 
his appearance and attended carefully to his 
hair. At the age of 17 he married Cornelia, 
the daughter of Cinna, the consul. He served 
his apprenticeship as a soldier in a war against 
pirates. Then he returned to Rome and prac¬ 
ticed in the law courts. At the age of 32 he 
was made quaestor, which gave him a place in 
the Senate, his first step in high office. In 
B. C. 63 he was chosen Pontifex Maximus 
by an overwhelming majority, and soon alter 
praetor for the ensuing year. His term of 
office having expired, he was dispatched to 
Spain, the conquest of which he completed. 
His work was done quickly, but thoroughly. 
In B. C. 60 he was candidate for consulship, 
to which office he was chosen without oppo¬ 
sition. From his consulship, at the age of 
43, Caesar turned to the conquest of Gaul; 
but Pompey intrigued against him; so he 
crossed the Rubicon and made himself master 
of Italy. The decisive battle between Caesar 


Concise Information. 133 

and Pompey was fought at Pharsalia, Caesar 
being successful; the remnant of the Pompe¬ 
ian forces was crushed at Thapsus. Caesar was 
now master, but a conspiracy was formed 
against him. On the 15th of March, B. C. 
44, certain conspirators, Brutus among them 
—Brutus whom he trusted—struck him down 
in his place in the Senate house. That his 
enemies might not see the death pang upon 
his countenance, he concealed his face be¬ 
neath the folds of his toga. He was a gen¬ 
eral, a statesman, a lawgiver, an orator, a 
historian and a mathematician. 

Languages are divided into families. First 
in rank and importance is the Indo-Euro¬ 
pean, filling nearly the whole of Central 
and Southern Europe, a portion of south¬ 
western Asia, and with colonies in every 
quarter of the globe; it includes the lan¬ 
guages of nearly all the modern, and of some 
of the most important of the ancient, civil¬ 
ized races. The English is a member of 
this family. Next is the Semitic—so named 
from Shem, one of the sons of Noah—having 
its station in Arabia and the neighboring 
regions of Asia and Africa. Hebrew, the 
ancient language of the Jews, belongs to this 
division. Then follows the family of the 
the Scythian dialects, ranging from Norway 


134 Concise Information. 

almost to Behring’s straits, and occupying 
a good part of Central Asia also, with Hun-, 
gary and Turkey. Further, the Southeastern 
Asiatic or monosyllabic family in China and 
Farther India, and countries adjacent to 
these; the Malay-Polynesian and Melane¬ 
sian, scattered over the islands of the Pacific 
and Indian Oceans ; the Hamitic, composed 
of the Egyptian and others, chiefly in North¬ 
ern Africa; the South African, filling Africa 
about and below the equator; and the 
American or Indian. Besides these great 
families, there are a few lesser groups. The 
English is the most widely spread, and is 
spoken by over 90,000,000 of persons; the 
Spanish, 66,000,000—about 30,000,000 in 
America; the German, 60,000,000, and the 
French, 48,000,000. 

Legion. —The Roman army was divided 
into legions, the number of\vhich varied con¬ 
siderably, each under six tribuni, who com¬ 
manded by turns. The legion was sub di¬ 
vided into ten cohorts, the cohort into three 
maniples, and the maniple into two centu¬ 
ries, containing 100 men, but afterward from 
50 to 100 men, according to the strength of 
the legion. 

Libraries. —The large libraries formed in 
ancient times are proofs of the condition of 


Concise Information. 135 

literature in the various countries of Asia and 
Europe. Most of these collections were de¬ 
stroyed in the wars which devastated the 
various countries and cities where they ex¬ 
isted, the remnants which escaped owing 
their preservation to being concealed in con¬ 
vents and monasteries. There is a wide dif¬ 
ference between the ancient volumen , or roll, 
and a volume of the present day. Any single 
book, or part of a treatise, would anciently 
have been called volumen , and would reckon 
as such in the enumeration of a collection of 
books. Josephus, which in a modern library 
forms but a single volume, would have counted 
as 29 volumina at Alexandria. 

Money. —Ancient nations that were with¬ 
out a coinage, weighed the precious metals, 
a practice represented on the Egyptian monu¬ 
ments, on which gold and silver are shown 
to have been kept in the form of rings. The 
invention of coined money we owe to the 
Greeks—about the eighth century B. C. The 
earliest coins are rude in form, and are 
stamped on one side with the figure of a tor¬ 
toise. On the first coins no earthly ruler was 
allowed to be pictured, no deed of heroism 
portrayed. The earliest coin discovered bear¬ 
ing the portrait of a king is that of Alexan¬ 
der I, of Macedon, who commenced to reign 


136 Concise Inforjnation. 

about 500 B. C. One thousand towns of the 
Greek republic were allowed the privilege of 
coining money. Some of the old Greek 
coins equal many modern productions. The 
only portraits we have of many eminent per¬ 
sons, are those found on ancient coins. 

Names. —Choosing a name by sound be¬ 
longs to civilization. It was not so with 
nations in their infancy. They fixed on a 
name that described the child, that referred 
to its personal characteristic, or was owned 
by something that they were grateful for 
and loved. The Greeks bore only one name, 
given on the tenth day after birth, which it 
was the right of the father to choose, and 
alter if he pleased. The Romans at an early 
period had two names, and afterward every 
Roman citizen had three. Fixed family sur¬ 
names came into use about 1,000 years ago. 
They originated in France. About A. D. 
1070 surnames were first used among the 
English nobility. Five hundred years ago 
one third of the Englishmen were named 
either John or Wiliam, and they had no 
surnames. 

Napoleon Bonaparte was of Italian blood 
and name. He was born at Ajaccio, in the 
island of Corsica, on the 15th of August, 
1769. Only two months before his birth 


Concise Information. 137 

Corsica had given up its long struggle for 
independence, and was incorporated with 
France—so that he was born with all the 
privileges of French citizenship. At the age 
of ten he was sent to the French military 
school at Brienne. Here he spent over five 
years. In 1785 he received his commission 
as a sub-lieutenant of artillery. He first comes 
to notice at the siege of Toulon, 1793. At 
the age of 26 he married Josephine. Shortly 
after he was given the command of one of the 
three divisions of the army. After a brilliant 
campaign in Italy, he returned to France in 
1797. With an army of 40,000 men he in¬ 
vaded Egypt. After a series of battles, he 
left Egypt for France in 1799. ^ ess than 
a year he became First Consul. On the 2d 
of December, 1804, he was crowned Emperor 
of France. In 1811 Napoleon was at the 
height of his power. The beginning of his 
disasters was the war with Russia in 1812. 
With an army of 500,000 men he invaded 
Russia. Moscow was captured, and the Rus¬ 
sians, knowing no other means by which to 
deprive their foes of winter-quarters and pro¬ 
visions, set fire to their ancient capital, which, 
after four days, sank into a heap of ashes. 
Retreat was all that now remained for the 
Emperor. It is calculated that 125,000 per- 


Concise Information. 


138 

ished in battle; that 130,000 died of fatigue, 
hunger, and cold; and that 190,000 were 
made prisoners. All the Powers of Europe 
combined against him. In less than two 
years, in which a number of battles had been 
fought, and the city of Paris captured, he 
abdicated his throne. On the 20th of April, 
1814, he set out for the little island of Elba, 
which was now to be all the sovereignty of the 
once mighty Emperor. After ten months 
Napoleon escaped and entered Paris. The 
allies declared him an outlaw, and poured 
their armies toward France. Napoleon in¬ 
vaded Belgium. On the 18th of June, 1815, 
the battle of Waterloo was fought—resulting 
in an overwhelming defeat to the French. 
June 22d, 1815, he signed his second abdi¬ 
cation. On the 15th of July he went on 
board a British ship, which carried him to 
the island of St. Helena. His death took 
place May 5, 1821. In 1840 his remains 
were removed to France and deposited in the 
Hotel des Inv v ilides. 

Newspapers.— During a recent excavation 
in the royal library of one of the kings of 
Nineveh, the workmen came upon a large 
ten-cornered terra-cotta cylinder, some 22 
inches long and two feet in circumference. 
Its sides are closely covered with very small 


Concise Information. 139 

characters, in ten columns, exactly like those 
of a modern newspaper. The columns are 
nearly the width of those of an average news¬ 
paper, and rather more than half the iength. 
The subject is divided into sections of what 
a printer would call rules across the columns. 
Some sections occupy half a column, others 
a column and a half. It dates from the year 
640 B. C. The first newspaper of which we 
have any account was published by the Roman 
government over 2,000 years ago. At first it 
was issued but once a year, and contained a 
digest of all the important occurrences which 
had taken place during the past 12 months. 
These papers consisted of white tablets of 
wood, on which was written the news, and 
were delivered to citizens as papers are now¬ 
adays. In the course of a few years the gov¬ 
ernment found it necessary to issue a daily, 
which was called Acta Populi Romani Diurno. 
4t Daily Acts of the Roman People.” This 
was established 168 B. C. Some of the ori¬ 
ginal copies of this journal are still in exist¬ 
ence. In one is an account of a quarrel in a 
low tavern, in which the landlord was badly 
pounded; several butchers were fined for 
selling meat which had not been inspected ; 
a broker who had decamped with money left 
with him in trust, was arrested and obliged 


140 Concise Information. 

to refund his stealings. The first political 
journal was originated by Julius Caesar. The 
journal contained the proceedings of the 
Senate, a department of births and deaths, 
executions, market sales, building news, an¬ 
ecdotes, etc. Modern newspapers originated 
in Italy. A Gazetta , which derives its name 
from its price, a small coin, was published in 
Venice about 1536. The first real newspaper 
published in England appeared in 1663. 

Noah’s Ark.— Dimensions 450 feet long, 
75 broad, and 45 high. It contained three 
stories, and had a door in the side. The 
ark was made of gopher (supposed to be 
cypress) wood, a kind of timber which both 
for its lightness and its durability was used 
by the Phenicians for building their ships. 
The timber of the ark, after being put togeth¬ 
er, was protected by a coating of pitch, or 
bitumen, which was laid on both inside and 
outside, as the most effectual means of mak¬ 
ing it water-tight. It rained 40 days and 
40 nights. Six months after the commence¬ 
ment of the flood the ark rested on the mount¬ 
ains of Ararat. The waters decreased con¬ 
tinually, and in one year and ten days after 
entering the ark he came forth, reared an 
altar, and offered sacrifices to God, who ap¬ 
pointed the rainbow as a pledge that he 


Concise Information . 141 

would no more destroy mankind with a flood. 
There were eight persons in the ark—besides 
the animals and birds—Noah and his wife 
and his three sons and their wives. Tradi¬ 
tions of the flood are found in all parts of the 
world. Medals were struck at Apamea in 
Phrygia, about A. D. 200, bearing the name 
No, an ark, a man and woman, a raven and 
a dove with an olive branch in its mouth. 
Precepts of Noah—the first six are said to 
have been given to Adam. 1. Against idol¬ 
atry. 2. Against blasphemy. 3. Against 
bloodshed. 4. Against uncleanness. 5. 
Against theft. 6. Obedience. 7. Forbid¬ 
ding the eating of “flesh with the blood 
thereof.” 

Numerals. —The Arabic numerals were 
•derived from Hindostan. The characters 
were originally the initials of the Sanscrit 
names for the digits, one, two, &c., but have 
undergone considerable changes of form. 

Pacific. —Area about 70,000,000 square 
miles—more than that of all the dry land 
put together. The extent of land it drains 
is less than one half of that drained by the 
Atlantic. It is studded with numberless 
islands, especially on its western side. The 
Pacific ocean was discovered in 1513, by 
Balboa, governor of a Spanish settlement on 


142 


Concise Information. 


the Isthmus of Darien, (now Panama .) Pacific 
means peaceful. It received this name on ac¬ 
count of its freedom from storms compared 
with the Atlantic, by Magellan, a Portugese 
—in 1520—who spent months on it without 
encountering a storm. The strait through 
which he entered the ocean is still called the 
Strait of Magellan. The equator divides this 
ocean into the North and South Pacific. 

- Pilate.— Pontius Pilate was the Roman 
Procurator, or resident governor, of Judea 
during the period of Christ’s public ministry 
and death. Of his life before he became 
Procurator, nothing is known, except that 
his name indicates a probability that he was 
a freedman, or the descendant of a freedman, 
connected with the Pontian house, first con¬ 
spicuous in Roman history in the person of 
C. Pontius Telesinus, the great Samnite gen¬ 
eral. He was the sixth Boman Procurator 
of Judea. He was appointed Procurator of 
Judea and Samaria about A. D. 26, and held 
the appointment for a period of ten years. 
Secular history shows him to have been arbi¬ 
trary in the exercise of his authority, and on 
two or three occasions nearly drove the Jews 
to insurrection. It was the custom of the 
Procurator to reside at Jerusalem during the 
great feasts, to preserve order, and accord- 


Concise Information. 143 

ingly, at the time of the trial and crucifixion 
of Christ, Pilate was occupying his official 
residence in Herod’s palace. This palace 
was situated south-west of the Temple Hill. 
It was one of those luxurious abodes, “sur¬ 
passing all description.” Between its colos¬ 
sal wings of white marble was an open space 
commanding a noble view of Jerusalem, 
adorned with sculptured porticoes and col¬ 
umns of many-colored marble, paved with 
rich mosaics, varied with fountains and reser¬ 
voirs, and green promenades, which furnished 
a delightful asylum for flocks of doves. Out¬ 
side it was a mass of lofty walls, and towers, 
and gleaming roofs, mingled in exquisite va¬ 
rieties of splendor; within, its superb rooms, 
large enough to accommodate a hundred 
guests, were adorned with gorgeous furniture 
and vessels of gold and silver. A magnifi¬ 
cent abode, and yet neither Pilate nor his 
predecessors seem to have cared to enjoy its 
luxuries for more than a few weeks in a whole 
year. They were forced to be present in the 
Jewish capital during those crowded festivals 
which were always liable to be disturbed by 
some outbreak, and they soon found that 
even a gorgeous palace cannot furnish a 
pleasant residence if its citizens are opposed 
to the ruling power. We learn from Josephus 


144 Concise Information. 

that Pilate’s anxiety to avoid giving offense 
to Caesar did not save him political disaster. 
The Samaritans were unquiet and rebellious 
—Pilate led his troops against them, and de¬ 
feated them. The Samaritans complained to 
Vitellius, now President of Syria, and he 
sent Pilate to Rome to answer their accusa¬ 
tions before the Emperor. When he reached 
it he found Tiberius dead, and Caligula on 
the throne, A. D. 36. Pilate is said to have 
been banished by Caligula to Vienne on the 
Rhone; where a singular monument—a pyra¬ 
mid on a four-cornered base, 52 feet high— 
is called Pontius Pilate’s tomb. There are 
various traditions about his death. One is, 
that he sought to hide his sorrows on the 
mountain by the Lake of Lucerne, now called 
Mount Pilatus; and there, after spending 
years in its recesses, in remorse and despair, 
rather than penitence, plunged into the lake 
which occupies its summit. The early fathers 
state that Pilate made an official report to 
Tiberius of Christ’s trial and condemnation. 
The Roman historian Tacitus, (Ann. XV, 44,) 
speaking of Christians, says, “the author of 
this name was Christ, who was capitally pun¬ 
ished in the reign of Tiberius, by Pontius 
Pilate.” 

Plato was born B. C. 429; died 347. He 


Concise Injormation. 145 

was one of the disciples of Socrates, and 
founder of the academic school. The works 
of Plato remain in the form of his Dialogues. 

Pompeii had a population of about 25,000 
at the time of its destruction in A. D. 79. 
It was beautifully seated upon the grassy 
shore of the circling Bay of Naples, with the 
background of a majestic mountain, whose 
sides were green with vineyards. The balmy 
air and magnificent scenery attracted to this 
seaside resort Romans of rank and wealth. 
The first warnings of danger were given by 
two shocks of earthquake in A. D. 63, which 
shattered the chief buildings. Suddenly in 
A. D. 79, Vesuvius began to shoot forth vol¬ 
umes of smoke. An enormous cloud hung 
over the crater, being colored white, black, 
or spotted, according as it was tinged by 
earth or ashes. Amid peals of awful thunder 
the mountain vomited forth jets of red-hot 
stones and ashes. A cover of darkness took 
away the light of the sun for three days. 
For eight days there fell a rain of burning 
ashes, cinders and stones, with floods of 
water. No current of lava appeared at this 
first eruption. Three cities which flourished 
at the base of Vesuvius were buried by this 
eruption. Not only were the cities buried by 
sand, ashes, cinders and stones, but the 

10 


146 


Concise Information. 


buildings, cellars and vaults were filled by 
currents of mud. When these cities were 
first excavated everything enveloped was in a 
most perfect state of preservation—the pave¬ 
ments of lava, with deep ruts worn by the 
carriage wheels; the names of the owners 
over the doors of the houses; the frescoed 
paintings still bright; fabrics in the shops 
still showing their texture; vessels of fruit so 
well preserved as to be easily recognized ; 
bread retaining the stamp of the baker, and 
medicine yet remaining on the apothecary’s 
counter. Over one third of Pompeii has 
been cleared of rubbish thus far. These 
investigations show that the vast bulk of the 
people must have made their escape. Still, 
single skeletons of fugitives, and groups of 
bodies have been found, to the number of 
about 600. One third of this number were 
found on the floor of the temple of Juno, 
whither they had fled to implore the protec¬ 
tion of that goddess. At the barracks of the 
troops were 64 skeletons of the Roman guard 
—for it was the pride of these veterans to die 
at the post of duty. 

Postage Stamps. —England was the first 
to adopt the postage stamp, 1840; Brazil, 
1843; United States, 1847. The govern¬ 
ments of over 200 countries issue postage 


Concise Information. 


147 


stamps. About 50,000,000,000 letters are 
sent through the mails in a year. The United 
States uses the greatest number, over three 
times as many as England, the next highest. 
Siberia has the largest stamp, and Zealand 
the smallest. 

Post Offices were established by Cyrus 
the Great, king of Persia, in the sixth cen¬ 
tury B. C. As the king wished an exact ac¬ 
count of all the affairs of his kingdom, he 
established post houses and messengers in 
every district. He had stables built at equal 
distances from each other, furnished with 
horses and grooms, and then appointed for 
each station a postmaster to receive the pack¬ 
ets and deliver them to the different couriers. 

Printing.— Separate types were invented 
about 1429. They were first made of wood 
and afterward of tin. 

Pyramids. —There are many pyramids in 
Egypt. They vary in size,, and are masses of 
stone, or brick, with square bases and trian¬ 
gular sides. It is supposed they were the 
tombs of the ancient kings of Europe—large 
chambers having been found in some of them. 

Rings. —Finger rings are of great antiquity. 
The oldest gold finger ring is that of King 
Cheops, builder of the great pyramid, Egypt. 
It is a signet ring. Egyptian kings had their 


148 


Concise Information. 


names engraved on their rings, and when re¬ 
quired to sign documents, instead of writing 
their names, stamped them with their signet 
rings. A whole nation was employed to erect 
the great pyramid. Every decree connected 
with the building of the pyramid, or with the 
thousands of men employed on it, was sealed 
with the signet ring of Cheops. It is of fine 
gold, and the most valuable ring of antiquity 
in the world. On a mummy case in the 
British Museum is a representation of a wo¬ 
man with crossed hands, covered with rings; 
the left hand is most loaded. Upon the thumb 
is a signet with hieroglyphics on the surface, 
three rings on the forefinger, two on the sec¬ 
ond, and the same number on the next, and 
one on the little finger. The right hand car- 
:ries a thumb ring and two upon the third 
-finger. The forefingers of the gods of Greece 
and Rome wore rings, the emblem of su¬ 
premacy. The ring of Nonius contained the 
largest opal known to the ancients, on account 
of which its possessor was proscribed by Mark 
Antony. When Nonius took to flight he 
•carried nothing with him but his ring. “How 
marvelous,” adds Pliny, “must have been 
the cruelty, how marvelous the luxurious pas¬ 
sions of Antonius, thus to proscribe a man 
for the possession of a jewel; and no less 


Concise Information. 149 

marvelous must have been the obstinacy of 
Nonius, who could thus dote upon what had 
been the cause of his proscription.” Gladia¬ 
tors often wore heavy rings. Pliny attributes 
the downfall of the Roman republic to a 
quarrel about a ring at a certain auction that 
a feud originated between Drusus and the 
chief Senator Caepio, which led to the break¬ 
ing out of the Social War and to all its fatal 
consequences. As soon as the despotic power 
of the Caesars was established, it became a 
mark of loyalty to adorn either one’s house, 
or one’s finger ring with a picture of the Em¬ 
peror. There are many instances on record 
in which the use or abuse of rings changed 
the destinies of kingdoms, and brought ig- 
nomy, shame, and death to eminent persons. 
The investiture of the English sovereigns per 
annulum , or by the ring, is an important part 
of the coronation ceremonial. On this oc¬ 
casion the master of the Jewel House delivers 
the ring (which is of plain g:>ld, with a large 
ruby, on which the cross of St. George is en¬ 
graved) to the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
who places it on the fourth finger of the sov¬ 
ereign’s right hand, at the same time telling 
him the duties he is expected to perform. 
The meaning of the ceremony is the union 
of the ruler with the people, whom he is sup- 


150 Concise Information. 

posed to espouse at this solemnity, and in 
this sense some old writers have called it the 
wedding ring of England. One of the smallest 
wedding rings on record is that which is men¬ 
tioned in the marriage of the Princess Mary, 
daughter of Henry VIII, to the Dauphin of 
France, son of King Francis I. The Dauphin 
was born February 28, 1518, and the event 
of his birth was made a matter of State policy 
for a more intimate alliance with France. 
On October 5 th, in the same year, the bridal 
ceremonies took place at Greenwich with 
great pomp. King Henry took his station in 
front of the throne; on one side stood Marie, 
of France, and Queen Katharine; in front 
of her mother was the Princess Marie, just 
two years old, dressed in cloth of gold with 
a cap of black velvet on her head blazing 
with jewels. On the other side stood the 
two legates, Wolsey and Campeggio. After 
a speech by Dr. Tunstal, the Princess was 
taken in arms, the consent of the King and 
Queen was demanded, and Wolsey approached 
with a small ring of gold, fitted to the young 
lady’s finger, in which was a valuable dia¬ 
mond. Admiral Bonnivet, as proxy for the 
baby bridegroom, passed it over the second 
joint. The bride was blessed, and mass per¬ 
formed by Wolsey, the King and the whole 


Concise Information. 151 

court attending it. Why the ring is worn on 
the left hand is said to signify the subjection 
of the wife to the husband \ the right hand 
signifies power, the left dependence. The 
Greek Church directs that the ring be put on 
the right hand. With the bride’s ring, for¬ 
merly, were delivered the keys of the house. 

Romans. —From small beginnings and 
slow progress they at length conquered al¬ 
most every nation, and Rome became the 
mistress of the world. They successively 
adopted seven forms of government. For 
upwards of 200 years from the founding of 
Rome, B. C. 753, they had kings. From 
the expulsion of the Tarquins, B. C. 509 to 
B. C. 44, they were governed by consuls, 
tribunes, decemvirs, triumvers and dictators. 
After this to A. D. 476, they were ruled by 
emperors. Romulus was the name of their 
first and last king. 

Roads .—Breadth of Roman roads, 13 to 
15 feet. A journey might have been made 
upon Roman highways, interrupted only by 
brief trips upon the sea, from Alexandria to 
Carthage, thence through Spain and France, 
and thence northward to the border of Scot¬ 
land, thence back through Germany, east¬ 
ward by land to Constantinople and Antioch, 
and thence to Alexandria, a distance of 


152 Concise Information. 

7,000 miles. The traveler could measure 
his progress by the mile-stones along these 
roads. 

Army .—The term of service in the Roman 
army was from 17 to 45 years. They were 
chosen for their qualifications. In Rome 
and Italy the public peace was preserved by 
the Pretorian cohorts—bodies of soldiers of 
tried valor. They received double pay. 
Throughout the provinces the people were 
kept in check by the regular troops—num¬ 
bering 350,000 men. 

Aqueducts .—The aqueducts of the Romans 
were amongst the most magnificent of their 
works. Some of them were under ground. 
Others crossed valleys on arches, many of 
which were more than 100 feet high. Pure 
streams were sought at a great distance—one 
being 62 miles long. The Aqua Virgo was 
constructed about 1,900 years ago, and still 
carries water to Rome. Its waters are con¬ 
sidered the best in the city. 

Rose, called “ the Queen of Flowers,” is 
highly esteemed in its native East for its fra¬ 
grance and the beauty of its form and colors. 
There is an old legend which says that in 
Eden the rose grew with a thornless stem, 
till Satan entered and sought to pluck it with 
his hand, leaving the blossom henceforth 


Concise Information. 


T 53 


marred by one touch of evil. Another states 
that Eve brought the rose out of Eden with 
her. Twenty-nine hundred years ago the 
Queen of Babylon spent fortunes to secure 
her “garden of roses.” The rose of Jericho 
is a native of Arabia, and opens only in fine 
-weather. It also possesses in a remarkable 
degree a reviving power, and can recover its 
life when to all appearance dead; hence the 
Jews use it as a symbol of the resurrection. 
Over Roman, Greek and Chinese graves it 
is a frequent emblem. The pillars marking 
the graves of Mohammedan girls have a sculp¬ 
tured rose at the top. The old Romans car¬ 
ried their enthusiasm for roses so far as to 
cover the couches or strew the floors for an 
honored guest with rose leaves. It is said 
Nero spent $100,000 for roses to adorn a fete. 
There is a story told of Elizabeth, Queen of 
Hungary, bearing bread in her apron as she 
went out from palace walls to feed her starv¬ 
ing, dying poor, but met her angry husband, 
who had sternly forbidden all such wasteful 
charities, and insisted on seeing what was 
concealed; but, when trembling and afraid, 
the apron was opened if was filled with roses, 
the angels having turned the bread into roses 
to shield their favorite. Among the ancients 
it was a symbol of secrecy, and a rose sus- 


154 Concise Information. 

pended over the dining table uttered its 
mystic charm, sub-rosa, “ under the rose,” as 
a token that all spoken around that board 
should be kept secret. In Eastern lands 
Mohammed’s followers say that the rose first 
sprang from drops of sweat falling from the 
prophet’s face, and most naturally they shud¬ 
der to have a rose leaf trampled under care¬ 
less feet. Rhodes was called the “ island of 
roses,” and the figure of a rose was stamped 
on its coins. The rose is the emblem of 
England. In English history we have the 
War of the Roses—the white rose being the 
badge of the House of York, and the red rose 
of the House of Lancaster. In the days of 
chivalry it was often worn on the helmets 
as an emblem that beauty should always be 
companion of strength and courage. The 
Romans wore it on their helmets as an em¬ 
blem of strategem. The rose is grown for 
commercial uses most extensively in Turkey, 
India, and the south of France. The crop 
of the East is distilled for the ottar, the 
French flowers are generally applied to the 
production of “water,” “oil,” and “ po¬ 
made.” The variety chiefly cultivated for 
these uses is said to be the “hundred 
leaved.” The ottar of rose possesses in a 
high degree of concentration the character- 


Concise Information . 155 

isticodor of the rose bloom. The distillation 
of 100 pounds of the flowers produces only 
about three teaspoonfuls of the ottar. 

Sahara.— In the northern part of Africa 
is the Desert of Sahara—the greatest in the 
world. It extends from the shores of the 
Atlantic to the valley of the Nile—a distance 
of about 3,000 miles, having a breadth vary¬ 
ing from 700 to 1,200 miles. Area about 
2,700,000 square miles. The winds blow its 
sqnds into storms destructive to human life. 
Wherever water rises to the surface, fertile 
spots, called oases, occur. One of the largest 
contains 100,000 inhabitants. The surface 
of the oasis is generally below that of the sur¬ 
rounding desert. The Desert of Sahara is a 
plateau about 1,000 feet high, no part of it 
being below the level of the sea. Granite 
hills, sandy plains, shallow lakes, fertile oases, 
alternate very nearly the whole surface, while 
beasts of prey are rarely seen. Artesian wells 
have been sunk in some places, to the great 
relief of the tribes roaming there, as well as 
of travelers. 

Samaritans, a mixture of Jewish and Gen¬ 
tile nations, who for ages have lived in Pales¬ 
tine. A small remnant, about 150 persons, 
still exist at Nabulus. Great interest has been 
taken in them by the learned of Europe. 


156 Concise Information . 

They are a handsome people, generally taller 
than their neighbors. The community is a 
quiet, sober, and orderly one. Their habits- 
of life are remarkably cleanly, in person, in 
dress, and in the interior of their households. 
They still cling to their ancient customs. 
During the destructive wars waged by the 
Emperor Justinian against the Samaritans in 
the first half of the sixth century, the nation 
almost disappeared from history. It is the 
belief of this small community that they are 
doomed to extinction. 

Santa Claus.— According to the popular 
legends he was born in Asia Minor, and as 
he grew up was distinguished for his gravity,, 
sobriety, and great humility. He was or¬ 
dained a priest, and is said to have become 
bishop of Myra. His life was marked by the 
practice of every saintly virtue, but more es¬ 
pecially by a charity which knew no bounds. 
He died in the city of Myra, A. D. 326. 
Santa Claus is said to have supplied three 
destitute maidens with marriage portions by 
secretly leaving money at their window, and 
as his day occurred just before Christmas, he 
thus was made the purveyor of the gifts of 
the season to all children who put out their 
stockings. He is also called St. Nicholas. 

Scylla and Charybdis. —The celebrated 


i 57 


Concise Information. 

straits of Scylla and Charybdis (sometimes 
called Faro Strait,) were known in the days 
of Homer, had a high promontory rock upon 
the right, on the Calabrian coast, and a fright¬ 
ful whirlpool upon the left, on the Scicilian 
coast. Time and its changes, and especially 
the rendings of the earthquakes of 1783, have 
entirely destroyed or removed the Chary b- 
dian malestrom. 

Ships.— The earliest Egyptian drawings 
show boats built of sawn planks, having sails 
and numerous oars. The ancient galleys 
of the Mediterranean were built with keel, 
ribs and planking, and were strengthened by 
the benches on which the rowers sat. The 
vessels were designated according to the 
number of banks of oars in each—biremes, 
triremes, etc. In time the triremes sup¬ 
planted all other forms, and came to be re¬ 
cognized as the best type of the war galley. 
Each oar was pulled by a single man, and 
the rowers were guided by the word of com¬ 
mand or by the sound of a trumpet. After 
a time sails were added. The modern ram 
had its pattern 2,000 years ago in the brazen- 
beaked galleys of the Mediterranean. Navi¬ 
gation was suspended during the winter 
months, when storms were likely to occur. 
Ships gradually increased in size. William 


158 Concise Information. 

the Conqueror invaded England in small 
sailing vessels, while very large ships appear 
to have existed in the time of Richard I. 
The discovery of the mariner’s compass in 
the fourteenth century gave a great impetus 
to navigation. Many of the present terms 
concerning ship-building were in use at an 
early day, as shown by a letter dated in 1419. 
The foundation of the British navy was laid 
by Henry VII. 

Socrates (born B. C. 469) was ungainly 
of person. He taught without pay, address¬ 
ing all who chose to listen, in a homely but 
most pointed and telling style. His doctrine 
made him many enemies. He was charged 
before the Athenian magistrates with not be¬ 
lieving in the gods, and with being the cor- 
ruptor of the youth. Being condemned on 
these charges, he was sentenced to drink a 
cup of hemlock, and met his death calmly, 
B. C. 399. 

Solomon. —Noted for his wise sayings, a 
naturalist, author, and king 40 years. His 
palace was 13 years in building. It covered 
an area of about 150,000 square feet. 

Solomon’s Pools. —These are three large 
reservoirs, lying one above and beyond 
another, in a narrow valley. They are built 
of large stones and plastered within; and 


Concise Information . 159 

the water collected in them, and in several 
fountains in the vicinity, was conveyed in an 
aqueduct to Bethlehem and Jerusalem—part 
of the way through a tunnel. 

Sphinx is a reclining figure, with the head 
of a woman and the body of a lion. The 
one near the great pyramid is over 100 feet 
long. 

Temple.— There is perhaps no building of 
the ancient world which has excited so much 
attention, since the time of its destruction, 
as the temple which Solomon built at Jeru¬ 
salem, and its successor as rebuilt by Herod. 
Its spoils were considered worthy of forming 
the principal illustration of one of the most 
beautiful of Roman triumphal arches. It was 
David who proposed the building of the Tem¬ 
ple, and though he collected materials and 
made arrangements, the execution of the 
task was left for his son Solomon. He, with 
the assistance of Hiram, king of Tyre, com¬ 
menced this great undertaking in the fourth 
year of his reign, B. C. 1012, and completed 
it in seven years. It occupied the site prepared 
for it by David, on Mount Moriah. The 
whole area enclosed by the outer walls formed 
a square of 600 feet, but the temple itself was 
comparatively small, as it was intended only 
for the ministrations of the priests, the con- 


160 Concise Information. 

gregation of the people assembling in the 
courts. It measured 120 feet by 60, height 
45 feet. The Temple consisted of three parts, 
the Porch, the Holy Place, and the Holy of 
Holies. The whole interior was lined with 
wood-work, richly carved and overlaid with 
gold. Both within and without, the building 
was conspicuous chiefly by the lavish use of 
the gold of Ophir and Parvaim. This Tem¬ 
ple was destroyed on the capture of Jerusalem 
by Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 586. It was re¬ 
built in 520. About B. C. 20, Herod pulled 
down the edifice and rebuilt it on an en¬ 
larged scale. It was adorned by porches and 
gateways of great magnificence. Its porticoes 
were of greater splendor than are known to 
have been attached to any temple of the an¬ 
cient world. The cloisters in the west, north, 
and east sides were composed of double rows 
of Corinthian columns, 37 feet high, with 
flat roofs. The south cloister had three aisles: 
center aisle, 45 feet wide, 100 feet high; side 
aisles, 30 feet wide, 50 high. This magnifi¬ 
cent structure was supported by 162 Corin¬ 
thian columns. The inner gateways were of 
great height and highly ornamented. All 
the Jewish writers praise this temple exceed¬ 
ingly for its beauty and the costliness of its 
workmanship. It was built of white marble, 


Concise Information. 161 

exquisitely wrought, and with stones of large 
dimensions. The roof was covered with gold, 
and the floor with beautiful variegated marble. 
This splendid building, which rose like a 
mount of gold and snow, and was once the 
admiration of the world, was completely de¬ 
molished by the Roman soldiers under Titus, 
A. D. 70. The vessels of the Temple were 
carried to Rome and lodged in Vespasian’s 
Temple to Peace, and copied on the triumphal 
arch of Titus. 

Tower of Babel.— The tower was built of 
brick thoroughly burned, bitumen or pitch 
being used for mortar. Ancient bricks were 
about a foot square. The confusion of tongues 
occurred before it was finished. The place 
became, in course of time, the celebrated city 
of Babylon. It has been supposed that the 
tower of Babel was afterward finished, and 
called the tower of Belus, within the city of 
Babylon. Herodotus visited this tower, and 
describes it as a square pyramid, measuring 
half a mile in circumference at the base; 
from this rose eight towers, one above 
another, gradually decreasing to the summit, 
which was reached by a broad road winding 
up around the outside. This tower was used 
for astronomical purposes, but was chiefly 
devoted to the worship of Bel, whose temple 


162 


Concise Information. 


contained immense treasures, including sev¬ 
eral statues of massive gold, one of which 
was 40 feet in height. Here were deposited 
the sacred golden vessels brought from the 
temple at Jerusalem. Its ruins are supposed 
to be the present Birs Nimroud, six miles 
southwest of Hilleh, the modern Babylon— 
an immense mound of sun-dried bricks, laid 
with bitumen. It is a ruinous heap, shattered 
by violence, furrowed by storms, and strown 
with fragments of brick, pottery, etc., fused 
and vitrified by some intense heat. It is 190 
feet high, and on the top rises an irregular 
tower 90 feet in circumference and 35 feet 
high, built of a fine brick—with which the 
whole mound appears to have been faced. 
The tower is rent asunder and mutilated at 
the top, and scathed as if by lightning. A 
Jewish tradition declares that fire descended 
from heaven and split the tower of Babel 
through to its foundation. 

Volcanoes are openings in the earth’s 
crust from which various kinds of matter in 
a highly heated condition are ejected, such 
as gases, steam, ashes and cinders, masses of 
solid rock, and molten rock, called lava. 
The opening through which the materials are 
vomited forth is called the crater. The 
crater has generally one side much lower 


Concise Information. 163 

than the other—that from which the prevail¬ 
ing wind blows, which carries with it the 
showers of ashes to the opposite side of the 
mountain. The lava sometimes pours out of 
the side of the mountain instead of rising to 
the crater. In 1783, during a terrible erup¬ 
tion of Hecla, in Iceland, an immense stream 
of lava flowed from a side crevice ; moving 
slowly down the mountain side, it reached a 
distance of 50 miles in 42 days; it then 
branched into two main streams, the one 
running 40 miles and the other 50 miles fur¬ 
ther toward the sea. Its depth varied from 
600 to 1,000 feet, and its greatest width was 
15 miles. Wide river beds were filled up to 
the depth of from 400 to 600 feet. More 
than 80 eruptions of Etna are on record— 
first in B. C. 476—and over 40 of Vesuvius. 
Sometimes during an eruption the whole 
mountain or cone is either blown to pieces or 
falls into the gulf beneath, and its place is 
afterward occupied as a lake. The cones of 
volcanoes frequently fall in and are repro¬ 
duced. In some eruptions ashes are carried 
hundreds of miles—in one instance 800 
miles eastward and 1,200 miles westward 
from the volcano. History abounds with 
examples of new islands rising out of the sea, 
by volcanic action. As a general fact, vol- 


164 


Concise Information. 


canoes are arranged in extensive lines or 
zones—often reaching half around the globe. 
The number of active volcanoes is estimated 
at about 400. Over two thirds are situated 
upon islands of the sea ; and of the remain¬ 
der, the greater part are situated upon the 
borders of the sea, or a little distance from 
the coast. Extinct volcanoes are those 
which ages ago were active, but are now at 
rest. They are very numerous and are found 
in all parts of the world. 

Water. —Distilled water weighs 10 pounds 
per gallon ; sea water 10^ pounds; and Dead 
Sea water 12^ pounds; 1,000 ounces of sea 
water consists of 964 ounces of pure water, 27 
of common salt, and the remainder of various 
substances, such as lime, silica, sodium, po¬ 
tassium, bromine, and other substances. The 
cause of the saltness of the sea is unknown. 
Sea water freezes at the temperature of 28^ 
degrees, instead of 32 as is the case with fresh 
water. 


Concise Information. 


^5 


ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS. 


Old World. 

Ancient civilization begins on the banks of 
the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the 
Indus. These river plains were very fertile 
and produced abundant food, which made a 
large population possible. Accordingly, we 
find that in these countries men had adopted 
fixed habitations and developed different 
forms of civilization at a very early date. 

Assyrian.— Its main triumphs were in archi¬ 
tecture, sculpture, engraving on precious 
stones, metallurgy and manufactures. They 
were well acquainted with the principles of 
the arch, constructed tunnels through the 
solid rock, sluices, dams, and drains; knew 
the use of the pulley and lever, quarried and 
moved immense masses of stone; an excel¬ 
lent taste in the modeling of vases, jars, and 
drinking-cups; a clever and refined metal¬ 
lurgy, involving methods which, till revealed 
by their remains, were unknown to the 
moderns; a delicacy in the carving of ivory 
and mother-of-pearl; a skill in gem-engrav¬ 
ing, glass blowing and coloring, brick-en- 



i66 


Concise Information. 


ameling, furniture-making, and robe-em¬ 
broidering, which placed them, beyond ques¬ 
tion, among the most advanced of Oriental 
nations. 

Babylonian. —The buildings were of brick, 
sun-dried, partly baked; the great mass of 
the structure was usually of the former, the 
outside casing of the latter material. The 
chief edifices were temples. The implements 
were of stone or bronze. Their bronze im¬ 
plements were cast in clay molds; were skilled 
in pottery, gem-cutting, and the manufacture 
of delicate fabrics; constructed clay pipes for 
drains, exhibiting a considerable knowledge 
of mechanical principles. Writing was known 
from almost the earliest times. They wove 
linen, muslin, or silk, of a fine texture. Dress 
was elaborate; ornaments were tastefully 
wrought; seal engraving was carried to a 
high degree of perfection: furniture was in 
some cases artistic, while architecture stood 
at a low level. Their coffins were large— 
made of clay—sometimes seven feet long by 
two or three high, and two and a half broad 
at the bottom. They were made in one 
piece. 

Celtic. — They had cities, which were 
strongly walled; made use of letters; built 
bridges over their rivers; had ships; possessed 


Concise Information. 167 

considerable trade; a native coinage; exten¬ 
sive iron-works; knew something of metal¬ 
lurgy, mechanics, agriculture and pottery; 
had chariots, horses and cattle; constructed 
a system of roads; could weave, and exhibited 
a general aptitude for different occupations. 
At the beginning of the historic period, the 
domain of the Celts included a considerable 
portion of Europe. Britain, Gaul, a part of 
Spain, and the north of Italy, together with 
some of the provinces of Central Europe, 
were in their possession. 

Egypt.— In some branches of art, espe¬ 
cially in architecture, the Egyptians made 
great advances. Avenues of colossal sphinxes 
and lines of obelisks led to stupendous palaces 
and temples, containing immense halls. The 
pyramids were used for burial-places of their 
kings. The‘art of writing was extensively 
practiced. They were adepts in the polish¬ 
ing and engraving of precious stones, in glass 
manufacture—fragments having been found 
stamped with the name of Pharaoh. Plate- 
glass and ground-glass, interwoven with deli¬ 
cate gold threads and bright colors; birds 
with the natural tints of their plumage, grace¬ 
ful animals, imitations of precious stones, 
vases and cups decorated with brilliant colors, 
beautifully wrought on green and white 


i68 


Concise Information. 


grounds, are found among the ruins of Egypt. 
In porcelain-making, and in embalming and 
dyeing, they had attained great skill. They 
worked in metals from the earliest times; 
their walls and ceilings they painted in beau¬ 
tiful patterns, which are still imitated. In 
the production of articles of use and orna¬ 
ment they had reached a perfection that mod¬ 
ern art has not been able to surpass. They 
understood geometry, arithmetic, astronomy 
and medicine. They had an extensive com¬ 
merce, and her merchants crossed the desert 
and traveled to different countries for the pur¬ 
pose of selling their goods. 

Etruscan.— Among early civilizations the 
Etruscan is one of the most remarkable. It 
is believed that Etruria was really the source 
of the whole early civilization of Rome, 
until the time came when she was brought 
into contact with the Greeks. Etruscan 
architecture is remarkable for its massive¬ 
ness. The chief remains of it are found in 
the walls and gates of cities, in sewers, 
bridges, vaults, and tombs. Their town 
walls are of great strength. In some places 
the blocks of stone are from eight to ten feet 
in length, and three to five high. The walls 
are sometimes, even at the present time, 40 
feet high. In one instance a wall exceeds 


Concise Information. 169 

four miles in circumference. For greater 
security gateways were doubled. A short 
passage of a very solid construction, led from 
a first archway to a second, where a second 
gate impeded the entrance of assailants; and 
a portcullis could be lowered immediately 
behind the first gate, so that their retreat 
was cut off, and they were made prisoners. 
The remains of sewers are found on the sites 
of almost all Etruscan towns. One at Rome 
is still in an excellent state of preservation. 
“This is a culvert formed by a triple arch 
of the most massive character, the inner diam¬ 
eter of the innermost arch being 14 feet, and 
the outer diameter of the outermost arch 32 
feet. It was carried from the site of the old 
Forum to the Tiber, in a slightly circuitous 
course, a distance of about twenty-one hun¬ 
dred feet, and may be ascended by a boat 
when the Tiber is low, the distance from the 
level of the water to the crown of the inner 
arch being at that time about six feet.” 
The ordinary tombs of the Etruscans were 
large chambers, hewn out of the rock, and 
sometimes highly ornamented on the outside. 
Some of the tombs resembled houses—others 
temples. The tomb of the Tarquins is 35 
feet square, and supported by two massive 
pillars in the middle. Another tomb is cir- 


Concise Information. 


170 

cular, supported by a single pillar—diameter 
40 feet. The paintings in the tombs, in 
some instances, are faded, in others quite 
vivid. They were skilled in statuary* paint¬ 
ing, engraving, modeling in clay, and cast¬ 
ing and chiseling in bronze. Among the 
most curious and artistic of all the produc¬ 
tions of Etruria are the bronzes. These in¬ 
clude a great variety of articles-—the most 
remarkable are the statues, the candelabra and 
the engraved mirrors. Ancient art has pro¬ 
duced few things more elegant than Etruscan 
candelabra. The base is commonly a tripod, 
composed of three legs of animals ; the stem 
rises to a great height, and is twisted or fluted; 
frequently it is ornamented by figures of ani¬ 
mals, which seem to be climbing up it. At 
the top there is a cup for a lamp, often dec¬ 
orated with figures of birds. Few nations 
equaled the Etruscans in the manufacture of 
vases. The art of making and painting 
vases was carried to a high pitch of develop¬ 
ment in Etruria. They were skilled in music. 
“In physical comfort and luxury, in the ele¬ 
gance of their houses, the richness and variety 
of their dress, the magnificence of their per¬ 
sonal ornaments, the beauty and taste of their 
furniture, the Etruscans can scarcely have 
been surpassed by any ancient nation.” 


Concise Information. i 71 

Indian, (Asia.)— They built cities; con¬ 
structed magnificent palaces; trades were 
numerous; music was cultivated, and writing 
was known. Their civilization was more in¬ 
tellectual than material. “ It is said by those 
whose acquaintance with the early Indian 
literature is the widest, that there is scarcely 
a problem in the sciences of ontology, psy¬ 
chology, mataphysics, logic or grammar, 
which the Indian sages have not sounded as 
deeply, and discussed as elaborately, as the 
Greeks.” 

jRuins .—Three classes—the first, wholly 
excavated in the solid rock, the second partly 
excavated and partly built above ground, the 
third wholly built. “At Ellora, the whole 
face of a mountain is excavated into almost 
every kind of building usually found above 
ground. Here are hewn in the solid rock 
stairs, bridges, chapels, columned porticoes, 
halls, obelisks, and massive statues and bas- 
reliefs of the Hindu deities, while the various 
details of their history are profusely engraved 
on nearly all the walls. At Chidambaram is 
an immense temple covering an area of 1332 
by 936 feet. Pyramids stand at each of the 
four entrances to the temple. In another of 
these pyramids there depend from the nave 
to the tops of four buttresses festoons of an 


I 7 2 


Concise Information. 


immense stone chain, which is in all 548 feet 
long. Each garland of this strange chain 
consists of 20 links cut from a single stone 
60 feet long; the monstrous links being 10 
feet in circumference, with a girth of 32 
inches, and being polished to the smoothness 
of glass. Within the enclosure is a single 
hall supported by more than 1,000 pillars 
over 36 feet high. The central pagoda is 
very high, and measures at its base 360 by 
260 feet. It is built of immense blocks of 
stone, some of them 40 feet long, 5 wide and 
4 thick. These stones, weighing 60 tons, 
must have been brought a distance of 200 
miles.” There are many temples in India, 
and the whole land displays similar tokens of 
its great past. 

Lydian, (Asia Minor.) —Herodotus tells 
us that the Lydians, as far as he knew, were 
the first to engage in retail trade as a pro¬ 
fession ; and among the nations of Western 
Asia they were noted for industry, for men¬ 
tal activity, and for a readiness to hold inter¬ 
course with foreign countries. They were 
skilled in music, ship-building and engrav¬ 
ing. They are said to have invented coined 
money; were well acquainted with the art 
of squaring and polishing hard stone and 
marble. They buried their kings in conical 


Concise Information. 173 

mounds, many feet in height. The largest 
of them all, the famous “tomb of Alyattes/’ 
was about 1,000 feet in diameter. Its center 
■contained a sepulchral chamber, n feet long, 
S broad and 7 high, formed of large blocks 
of white marble highly polished. Its present 
height is about 150 feet. 

Medo-Persian. —The Medes first, and the 
Persians afterwards, attained to the leading 
position among the Oriental nations, and en¬ 
tered into possession of the accumulated 
knowledge and civilization of the earlier 
masters of Asia. They, however, improved 
on the past. Their architecture was noted 
for simplicity and regularity of design, and 
the profuse employment of the column. 
Double porticoes of 8, 12 or 16 columns 
gave entrance into pillared halls, where the 
columns were 16, 36, and in one instance 100 
in number. They were able to poise in the 
air pillars 64 feet high, having slender shafts, 
rich bases, and capitals of an elegant compo¬ 
sition. No hall in England comes near in 
dimensions the Great Hall of Xerxes, at Per- 
sepolis. Nor is there one in France or Ger¬ 
many that covers so much ground. To the 
north of this region, in Central Asia, have 
been found the remains of a vast aqueduct, ex¬ 
tending 150 miles to the Persian mountains. 


174 Concise Information. 

Phenician. —One of the earliest of Oriental 
civilizations was that of Phenicia. They were 
pre-eminent as merchants, navigators and ex¬ 
plorers, and proficients in various elegant and 
ornamental arts. They excelled in architect¬ 
ure, metallurgy, embroidery and manufac¬ 
tured glass at a very early date. They used 
the blow-pipe, the lathe and the graver, and 
cast mirrors of glass. The art of dyeing 
textile fabrics was carried to a high degree of 
perfection; and “Tyrian purple” was every¬ 
where regarded as the most beautiful of all 
known hues. A large portion of the world’s 
alphabets, including many of those which 
have the widest range, and have been used by 
the most cultivated nations, come from the 
Phenician alphabet. They were long re¬ 
nowned as a rich, powerful and cultivated 
people. Their coast was crowded with cities; 
and the productions of all known lands were 
exchanged in their markets. Carthage, the 
early rival of Rome, was a Phenician colony. 

Ruins .—On the islands and sea-coast of 
Phenicia are the ruins of great cities. At 
Ruad, old reservoirs of beautiful construction, 
hewn in the rock, are still used by the inhabi¬ 
tants of that place. At Marathos there is a 
vast court, 180 feet long by 156 wide, scooped 
out of the solid rock. Another structure is a 


Concise Information . 175 

stadium hewn in the rock, 738 feet long by 
100 wide. 


New World. 

Mexican or Aztec. —The civilization of 
ancient Mexico exhibits two distinct and 
widely different periods, the former of which, 
that of the Toltecs, is the most ancient; the 
latter, that of the Aztecs, is supposed to have 
been about 300 years old at the time of the 
conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards in 1519. 
The Aztecs adopted the civilization of the 
Toltecs, but they engrafted upon it many 
barbarous customs. The following is an 
outline of the civilization of both nations : 
They built temples and cities; knew howto 
fuse metals; cut and polish the hardest stones; 
had great knowledge of astronomy,* as is 
shown by the sculptured evidence on their 
great calendar stone. This stone, weighing 
over 30 tons, was transported more than 30 
miles, over a country crossed at intervals by 
streams and canals. Could manufacture 
earthenware and weave various fabrics; 
knew the cause of eclipses; constructed sun¬ 
dials and measured time by a solar year; 
they were Splendid gardeners; were great 
traders, using money formed of tin and 
other materials. Their manuscript evinces 


i 7 6 


Concise Information. 


great skill in picture writing; were formed 
of agave paper or of stag-skins, frequently 
from 65 to 70 feet long, each page having 
two to three feet surface. They were folded, 
and had thin boards fastened to each extrem¬ 
ity ; when closed they resembled quarto 
volumes. 

Ruins .—Mexico is full of the ruins of this 
ancient people. It is estimated that at the 
time of the conquest the empire contained 
over 40,000 temples, and thousands of pyra¬ 
mids. The largest pyramid is that of Cho- 
lula. It is 1,400 feet square at the base, and 
nearly 200 feet high. It is built of alternate 
layers of clay and unbaked bricks, present¬ 
ing four terraces. The first terrace of this 
pyramid was cut through in forming a road, 
and the interior revealed a square house, 
without doors or windows, and containing 
two skeletons, along with several stone idols, 
and many curiously painted and varnished 
vases. 

Aqueducts .—One over two miles long, was 
built on 904 arches. Another passed the 
mountains by a circuit of over 30 miles. It 
was carried over three chasms by stone 
bridges, of which the largest was more than 
half a mile long, the center arch being 61 
feet broad and no feet high. 


Concise Information. 177 

Mound Builders. —A vast number of an¬ 
cient mounds have been discovered in the 
United States. The mounds contain numer¬ 
ous specimens of the art of their builders, 
some of the implements and ornamental relics 
being most skillfully formed. Many of these 
are of copper, which in some cases are covered 
with silver, beaten very thin, and resembling 
modern plating. Remains of pottery are ex¬ 
ceedingly numerous throughout the whole 
country, the shapes being sometimes of great 
beauty, including water coolers of orna¬ 
mental shape, water jugs, statuettes and vases, 
stone weapons, pearls, sea shells, and other 
traces of ancient commerce. Their mounds 
are symmetrical in form and often enclosed 
in mathematical figures, such as the square, 
the octagon and circle, sometimes protected 
with long lines of fortifications. They under¬ 
stood mining, and had a knowledge of art 
and mechanical principles. The seat of their 
empire is believed to have been near St. Louis. 
The largest mound is 2,000 feet in circum¬ 
ference and 90 feet high. Some of their 
works of defense were of great dimensions, 
presenting walls 20 feet high, and four miles 
in length. These enclosures were designed 
with great skill. They were strengthened by 
ditches and other devices, and included look- 


12 


178 Concise Information. 

out mounds, reservoirs, and various similar 
military expedients. The Mound Builders 
were an agricultural people, essentially differ¬ 
ent from the North American Indians in their 
form of government, their habits and their 
daily pursuits. It is believed that the lower 
valley of the Mississippi was once densely 
peopled by this unknown race. 

Peruvian.— Little is known of the early 
civilization of Peru. A nation or nations 
living in large cities, flourished in the coun¬ 
try, and had a civilization, a language, and a 
religion different, and, perhaps, in some cases, 
more advanced than those of the Incas, who 
succeeded them. At the time of its conquest 
by the Spaniards in 1533, it is supposed that 
the empire of the Incas had existed about 
400 years, and had from four to eight million 
inhabitants. Throughout the extent of this 
ancient empire ran two great paved high¬ 
ways, one following the sea-coast over the 
plains for 1,600 miles, the other crossed the 
flanks and ridges of the Cordilleras, and ex¬ 
tended from Quito to Cuzco, a distance, in¬ 
cluding its windings, of over 1,200 miles. 
It was from 18 to 20 feet wide. Over the 
numerous rivers and ravines is was carried by 
bridges. Stations were built at various points 
of the road, consisting of dwellings of cut 


Concise Injormation . 


179 


stone, some of which were fortified and sup¬ 
plied with baths and other accommodations 
for the Incas in their journeys between their 
two capital cities. The Peruvians embalmed 
the bodies of their Incas. In the temple of 
the Sun at Cuzco these monarchs sat, natural 
as life, in chairs of gold, attired in royal state, 
their hands crossed upon their breasts; the 
queens were ranged opposite. The value of 
the precious metals and jewels of this temple 
has been estimated at over $100,000,000. 
The ruins ascribed to the Inca race include 
fortresses, arsenals, quarries, tunnels, obelisks, 
temples, palaces and other edifices. 


i8o 


Concise Information. 


CONDENSED INFORMATION 


Nations. 

Carthage founded, B. C. 850. 

Ancient Rome had 29 public libraries. 
Silkworms introduced into Europe, A. D. 
55 1 - 

First voyage of discovery on record, B. C. 
604. 

Tartars first mentioned in history, B. C. 
636- 

First authentic date in Greek history, B. 
C. 776. 

Venice is built on 72 islands, united by 360 
bridges. 

Gold first discovered in California, Febru¬ 
ary, 1848. 

The Mossaic law has 248 commands and 
365 prohibitions. 

England is the greatest tin-producing coun¬ 
try in the world. 

Length of Suez canal about 100 miles. 
Completed in 1869. 

Origin of New Year’s gifts among the 
Romans, B. C. 747. 



Concise Infor?nation. 181 

One of the best and most capacious harbors 
in the world, Havana. 

Money first coined at Rome, B. C. 580; 
silver, 269; gold, 206. 

In B. C. 309 Attica contained 21,000 free 
citizens and 400,000 slaves. 

Lake Elton, Europe, furnishes two thirds 
of all the salt used in Russia. 

The population of London increases at the 
rate of about 45,000 per year. 

Three fourths of the population in ancient 
Greece and Rome were slaves. 

Potatoes and tobacco were introduced into 
Europe by Sir Walter Raleigh. 

In the twelfth century the Jews became the 
principal bankers in the world. 

In A. D. 340, 150 Greek and Asiatic cities 
were destroyed by an earthquake. 

Strongest fortification in the world, Gib¬ 
raltar. It belongs to the English. 

The followers of Christ were first called 
Christians at Antioch, Syria, A. D. 43. 

The buildings of Athens were the most 
superb and best executed in the world. 

In 1208 London was incorporated and ob¬ 
tained its first charter from King John. 

Subterranean sewers built in Rome 2,500 
years ago still serve their original purpose. 


182 


Concise Information . 


Marine insurance has been traced to the 
time of the Emperor Justinian, A. D. 533. 

One of the most extensive buildings of an¬ 
cient or modern times, Temple of Karnak, 
Thebes, Egypt. 

First census of Rome, B. C. 566—187 
years from its founding—when there were 
84,700 citizens. 

In 879 Charles III, of Germany, was the 
first sovereign who added “in the year of 
our Lord” to his reign. 

The total number of victims of the great 
plague of A. D. 542 is estimated from 75,- 
000,000 to 120,000,000. 

The first tombstone (pillar) known in his¬ 
tory was set up by Jacob at Ramah to the 
memory of his wife Rachel. 

Solon said his laws were not the best he 
could have made, but they were the best he 
could get the Athenians to accept. 

In some parts of Greece toys and dolls have 
been found in the tombs of little children 
who were burried hundreds of years ago. 

The Phenicians were the leading commer¬ 
cial people of the ancient world. They had 
an extensive trade both by land and sea. 

The ancients placed the walls of their cities 
and public buildings upon rocky founda¬ 
tions—sometimes digging deep to reach the 
native rock. 


Concise Information. 183 

The water supply of New York allows 100 
gallons to each person per day. Ancient 
Rome gave over 300 gallons a day to each of 
her citizens. 

Statue of Rameses the Great of Egypt— 
circumference at the shoulders, 63 feet; esti¬ 
mated weight, nearly 900 tons. It was cut 
from a single block of red granite. 

There was a difference in the heathen the¬ 
ology between theos, god, and daimon , de¬ 
mon ; the iheoi were such as were gods by 
nature; the daunonia were men deified. 

The commerce of Carthage was carried on 
both by land and sea. They possessed almost 
exclusively the carrying trade between the 
nations of Africa and those of Western Eu¬ 
rope. 

At a season of the year when Italy did not 
furnish roses they were brought from Egypt 
till, by means of artificial heat and green¬ 
houses, the Romans learned to keep them in 
bloom all the year round. 

The first ship to sail around the world, the 
Victoria—85 tons—left the port of Seville, 
Spain, September 20, 1519. Arrived at 
Seville, September 8, 1521. Of the five 
ships which left Seville, only one returned. 

Largest of their kind: City, London ; 
national debt, England; navy, England ; 


i8 4 


Concise Information . 


area, Russia ; standing army on a peace foot¬ 
ing, Russia; population, China; population 
to the square mile, Belgium—469; grain 
depot, Chicago. 

Among the Greeks the names of their illus¬ 
trious families are borrowed from the heroes 
and gods of their mythology. The most 
famous houses amongst the ancient Romans 
have taken their names from their favorite 
crops and vegetables. 

In 1446 the sea broke in at Dort, Holland, 
and over too .000 people were overwhelmed 
and perished, 300 villages were overflowed, 
and the tops of their towers and steeples were 
for ages after to be seen rising out of the 
water. The inundation was caused by the 
breaking down of the dykes. 

Babylonia was one of the leading empo¬ 
riums of ancient commerce. Their fabrics 
and articles of luxury were sought by all the 
civilized nations of antiquity. At a very 
early period they formed commercial estab¬ 
lishments on the islands in the Persian Gulf, 
whence they obtained large quantities of the 
finest pearls. 

The Egyptians claimed the merit of being 
the first who consecrated each day to a par¬ 
ticular god—a method of forming the calen¬ 
dar which has been imitated and preserved to 


Concise Information . 185 

the present day ; the Egyptian gods having 
yielded their place to those of another nation, 
which have in time been supplanted by the 
saints of the Christian era. 

Probably the oldest timber in the world 
which has been subjected to the use of man 
is that which is found in the ancient temples 
of Egypt. It is found in dowel-pins in con¬ 
nection with stone-work which is known to 
be nearly 4,000 years old. These dowels 
appear to be tamarisk, or shittim wood, of 
which the ark in the wilderness is said to have 
been constructed, a sacred tree in ancient 
Egypt, and now very rarely found in the 
valley of the Nile. 


Earth. 

Cuba is 650 miles long; average breadth, 
60 miles. 

Average breadth of the Isthmus of Panama, 
50 miles. 

Over 40 peaks of the Himalaya mountains, 
Asia, exceed 20,000 feet. 

One of the highest regions in the world, 
Thibet. Average height, 15,000 feet. 

One of the heaviest known substances is 
iridium, used for pointing gold pens. 

It is estimated that each year 34,000 cubic 
miles of rain falls upon the surface of the' globe. 


186 


Concise Information. 


Lowest depression on the globe, Dead Sea 
—over 1,300 feet below the Mediterranean. 

Most extensive lake region, North America 
—contains one half of all the fresh water on 
the surface of the globe. 

Depth of Crater lake, Oregon, is 2,006 feet. 
It is believed to be the deepest body of fresh 
water on the continent. 

The Bahamas contain over 500 islands. 
San Salvador, the first land discovered by 
Columbus, belongs to this group. 

Largest river whose waters do not reach 
the ocean, Volga—the longest in Europe— 
2,000 miles. It empties into the Caspian sea. 
The sea has no outlet. 

Highest mountain in America, Aconcagua, 
23,910 feet—the highest volcano in the world; 
Europe, Elburus, 18,493; Asia, Mount Ever¬ 
est, 29,002; Africa, Kilimanjan, 20,000. 

Largest of their kind: Sea, Mediterranean ; 
inland sea. Caspian, 145,000 square miles— 
82 feet below the Black Sea; fresh water lake, 
Superior, 31,500 square miles; gulf, Mexico ; 
bay, Bengal; sound, Long Island; island, 
Australia, 3,120,000 square miles; desert, 
Sahara; park, Yellowstone National Park, 
3,575 square miles; geyser, Excelsior, Yel¬ 
lowstone Park. 


Concise Information. 187 

Language. 

In 1484 the first book with its leaves num¬ 
bered was printed. 

Public library founded at Athens, B. C. 
526, and learning encouraged. 

The oldest printed collection of English 
Christmas carols bear the date of 1521. 

The most celebrated grammarian and critic 
of antiquity, Aristarches, of Samosthrace. 

Oldest complete Bible, fourth century. 
Oldest complete Homer, thirteenth century. 

The first to reduce grammar to a system, 
Apollonius, of Alexandria. Died B. C. 240. 

It is said the first song composed in Eng¬ 
land was a Christmas carol in Anglo-Norman 
French. 

The dictionary of Dr. Samuel Johnson 
was first published in 1755. Noah Webster’s 
large dictionary in 1828. 

Oldest almanac in existence—fourteenth 
century. First printed almanac, 1475. Al¬ 
manac de Gotha was first printed in 1763. 

The history of English prose begins about 
the year 1350, with what is considered the 
first English book—“Sir John Mandeville’s 
Travels.” 

Largest library, National Library, Paris— 
over 2,000,000. Largest in the United 


188 Concise Information. 

States, Library of Congress—over 555,000 
volumes, besides about 180,000 pamphlets. 

The first scholar who endeavored to intro¬ 
duce a regular system of spelling the words 
in the English language, was Sir Thomas 
Smith, Secretary of State to Queen Eliz¬ 
abeth. 

In ancient times the letter i had no dot. 
It is about 500 years since the dot was placed 
over it. I and J were formerly regarded as 
the same character. The letter J has been 
added in modern days, the letter I being 
written formerly where J is now. The dis¬ 
tinction between I and J is of recent date, 
and was introduced by Dutch printers. 

Birds. 

Albatross.—A web-footed bird. It is the 
largest of sea-birds and is found chiefly in the 
Southern Ocean. It is capable of long con¬ 
tinued flight, and is often seen at great dis¬ 
tances from the land. From the great weight 
of the birds they have much difficulty in rais¬ 
ing themselves into the air, which they do by 
striking the surface of the water with their 
feet, but when once on the wing their flight 
is rapid. “Of all the traveling that is done 
upon the planet, the traveling of some great 
sea-bird, such as the albatross, for instance. 


Concise Information. 189 

is the most sublime. Think of him leaving 
some barren rock in the Southern Ocean, and 
without further preparation than the unfolding 
of his mighty wings, setting forth on a voyage 
of 800 or 900 miles.” 

American Flycatchers. —This family is 
peculiar to America; it is one of the most 
extensive groups of its grade in the New 
World. 

Apteryx.—A bird of New Zealand of the 
ostrich family, with only short rudiments of 
wings, armed with a claw, and without a tail. 

Avocette. —A water bird. The bill of 
these birds is long, slender, flexible, and bent 
up ward toward the top. They have very long 
legs and are web-footed. 

Auks are confined to the Northern Hem¬ 
isphere. Some have been found as far north 
as explorers have penetrated. 

Bird of Paradise.— At the rising and set¬ 
ting of the sun it seeks its food. It washes 
itself regularly twice a day, and after having 
performed its ablutions, throws its delicate 
feathers up nearly over the head, the quills 
of which have a peculiar structure so as to 
enable the bird to effect this object. After 
expanding the wings, it brings them together 
so as to conceal the head, then bending it 
gracefully it inspects the state of its plumage 


190 


Concise Information. 


underneath. This action it repeats in quick 
succession. It then pecks and cleans its plu¬ 
mage in every part, and does not allow any 
soil to remain on its feathers. 

Bittern.— It has long legs and neck, and 
stalks among reeds and sedge, feeding upon 
fish. 

Boatbill.— Its beak resembles a boat re¬ 
versed, having a strong ridge or keel down 
the middle of the upper mandible, and the 
sides spread out and bowed. It inhabits 
South America. 

Bottle-Nested Sparrow.— This bird is 
found in most parts of Hindostan. It is re¬ 
markable for its hanging nest,brilliant plumage 
and uncommon sagacity. The nest is formed 
in a very ingenious manner, by long grass 
woven together in the shape of a bottle, and 
suspended by the other end to the extremity 
of a flexible branch, the more effectually to 
secure the eggs and young brood from ser¬ 
pents, monkeys, squirrels and birds of prey. 

Cassowary. —It is shorter and stouter than 
the ostrich, and, next to it, the largest living 
bird. It is a shy bird, and runs with great 
rapidity. A native of Malacca, Java and 
adjacent islands. 

Dragoon. —A Brazilian bird, having a 
large umbrella-like crest of feathers above 
the bill. 


Concise Information. 191 

Eider Duck.— A species of sea-duck which 
breeds in remote northern regions, and pro¬ 
duces a fine down, which is an article of com¬ 
merce. The down of the eider duck is very 
elastic. When the nest is finished the female 
eider spreads a bed of the finest down, plucked 
from her own breast, heaping it up, so as to 
form a thick, puffed roll quite round the nest. 
When she goes in quest of food, after begin¬ 
ning to sit, she carefully turns this roll of 
down over the eggs to keep them warm till 
her return. If the nest is plundered of its 
down, she immediately builds a second, but 
cannot furnish the same quantity as before; 
and if forced to build a third time, having 
then stripped her breast of all she could spare, 
the male is said to furnish what is wanting, 
which is recognized as being considerably 
whiter than the female’s. When the nest is 
not robbed, it is said that he furnishes none. 
The eider is about twice the size of the com¬ 
mon duck. # 

Flamingo. —Bill unique in shape, abruptly 
bent in the middle, so that the upper surface 
faces the ground in the act of feeding; in 
length much exceeding the head, very large 
and thick, entirely invested with membrane, 
wings moderately long, tail short. They in¬ 
habit the warmer parts of both hemispheres. 


192 


Concise Information. 


Frigate Bird.— A sea-bird. It is among 
the most singular of the feathered race. Its 
province is not water, but air. Beneath the 
throat is situated a large pouch, capable of 
being distended with air from the lungs. The 
bones of the wings are extremely long and 
light. The pouch forms an apparatus similar 
to a balloon, which requires little else but the 
wings to be spread to be enabled by its buoy¬ 
ancy to sustain the body in the atmosphere. 

Geese and Ducks inhabit all parts of the 
world. 

Goatsucker. —So called from a traditional 
superstition. They are more or less nocturnal, 
and have a certain resemblance to owls. The 
flight is perfectly noiseless; the plumage is 
very soft and lax, as in owls, and the colors 
are usually blended in the most intricate pat¬ 
tern. 

Guinea. —The guinea is from Africa and 
Madagascar. 

m Golden Pheasant. —A native of China, 
and esteemed the most beautiful of its genus, 
from the richness and multiplicity of the tints 
of its plumage. 

Heron.—A wading bird, with long legs 
and neck, and having the claw of the middle 
toe toothed. It is remarkable for its directly 
ascending flight. 


Concise Information. 193 

Hoopoe. —A bird whose head is adorned 
with a beautiful crest, which it can erect and 
depress at pleasure. It is found in Europe 
and Northern Africa. 

Hornbill. —A large bird having a large 
bill curving downward. It is a native of the 
East Indies. 

Humming Bird. —The food of the hum¬ 
ming bird was supposed to be the sweets of 
flowers. It is now known that they are chiefly 
insectiverous. Their little nests are models 
of architectural beauty. The eggs are always 
two in number. The humming bird is pecu¬ 
liar to America. Species occur from Alaska 
to Patagonia. The center of abundance is 
in tropical South America, especially in New 
Granada. There are about 500 species. The 
largest are seven inches long, the smallest 
less than three. 

Jacana.— Remarkable for the length of its 
toes and claws, which enables it to walk on 
floating plants at the surface of the water. 
A native of the tropics. 

Jays are found in most parts of the world, 
and reach their development in the warmer 
portions of America. 

Lyre Bird. —The sixteen tail feathers of 
the male bird are arranged in the form of a 
lyre. It is a native of Australia. 

13 


194 Concise Information. 

Orioles are of brilliant or strikingly con¬ 
trasted colors, and pleasing song; distin¬ 
guished as architects, constructing elaborately 
woven hanging nests. The Baltimore oriole 
is not from the city of that name, but from 
the title of Sir George Calvert, first baron of 
Baltimore; the colors of the bird being chosen 
for his livery, or resembling those of his coat 
of arms. 

Ostrich.— It is well formed for running, 
and is said to surpass horses in speed, upon 
the sandy plains where it is found. It lives 
on grain and vegetables. The plumes of the 
wings are highly valued as ornaments. The 
ostrich is a native of Africa and Arabia. 

Owls are found in almost all parts of the 
globe. 

Peacocks are found wild in Asia and 
Africa, but the largest and finest of these birds 
are seen in the neighborhood of the Ganges, 
and in the fervid plains of India. Our an¬ 
cestors served the peacock at high festivals, 
with all his most magnificent plumage. 

Pelican.— Bill several times as long as the 
head, comparatively slender, but strong, 
straight, broad, flattened, grooved through¬ 
out, ending with a distinct claw-like hook. 
They scoop up small fish as they swim along 
in the water. Pelicans are found in most tem¬ 
perate and tropical countries. 


Concise Information. 


195 


Petrels. —These are oceanic birds, rarely- 
landing except to breed, unsurpassed in powers 
of flight, and usually strong swimmers. 

Pigeons. —The entire number of species 
known to exist is about 300; of these the 
Malay Archipelago already counts 118, 28 in 
India, 23 in Australia, less than 40 in Africa, 
and not more than 80 in America. More 
than one fourth of the species occur in New 
Guinea. 

Plover. —The plover is found in nearly all 
parts of the world. 

Queen Pigeon.— A magnificent bird found 
in many of the islands of the Indian Ocean, 
remarkable for having on its head a beautiful 
tuft of feathers, which have a spoon-shaped 
extremity of a blue color, bordered with 
white. 

Rhinoceros Bird.— It has a curved horn 
on the forehead, joined to the upper mandi¬ 
ble. A native of the East Indies and the 
Indian islands. 

Rupicola. —Remarkable for possessing an 
elevated crest of feathers on the head, and for 
the extreme freshness and delicacy of the color 
of their plumage. 

Secretary Bird. —A bird of South Amer¬ 
ica. It lives almost exclusively on the larger 
snakes, which it captures with much skill. 


196 Concise Information . 

The Dutch gave to it the name of secretary, 
on account of the bunch of quills behind its 
head. For clerks, when interrupted in writ¬ 
ing, stick their pens in their hair behind their 
right ear, and to this the tuft of the bird was 
thought to bear some resemblance. 

Shearwater. —So called from its running 
lightly along the surface of the water. 

Spoonbill. —So named from the shape of 
the bill, which resembles a spoon. 

Stilt-Bird. —A wading bird, having long 
slender legs. It has no back toe. 

Stork. —The storks belong chiefly to the 
Old World, the warm and temperate portions 
of which they inhabit. 

Swift. —Wings long, thin and pointed, 
frequently as long as the whole bird. One 
of the most remarkable points in the structure 
of the swift is the great development of the 
salivary glands. The secretion thus produced 
is used more or less in the construction of the 
nest. In most cases it forms a glue by which 
the other materials are joined together, and 
the whole nest is affixed to a rock, wall or 
other object against which it is placed. In 
some species the whole nest is made up of 
thickened saliva, and becomes the edible 
bird’s nest so well known in the east. They 
closely resemble swallows. The swift visits 


Co?icise Information. 


197 


England the latest, and leaves the earliest, 
of any bird of its tribe; it does not often 
arrive before the beginning of May, and sel¬ 
dom remains later than the middle of August. 
It is one of the most active of birds. 

Tailor Bird.— It first selects a plant with 
large leaves, and then gathers cotton from the 
shrub, spins it to a thread by means of its long 
bill and slender feet, and then, as with a 
needle, sews the leaves together to conceal 
its nest. A native of India. 

Trogon. —The greater proportion of its 
plumage is apparently composed of burnished 
gold. Its head is ornamented by a brilliant 
crest. Among them are found the most mag¬ 
nificent birds of this continent. From the 
feathers of these birds the mosaic pictures of 
the Mexicans were made. They chiefly in¬ 
habit tropical America. 

Tropic Bird.— Found at sea in the torrid 
zone, having very long wings and two long 
slender tail feathers. It is about the size of 
a partridge. 

Trumpeter. —A South American bird. So 
called from its uttering a noise resembling 
that of a trumpet. 

Turkey. —Our domesticated turkeys are 
said to have come from Mexico. 

Weaver. —So called because they construct 


Concise Information. 


198 

curious and often hanging nests, by inter¬ 
weaving twigs and fibers. 

Woodpeckers are found in all parts of the 
world, except Madagascar, Australia and Poly¬ 
nesia. 

Da Vinci the artist, when he purchased lit¬ 
tle singing birds in cages, it was only to set 
them free. 

The Norwegian peasants put a sheaf of un- 
threshed wheat on the roof of the house at 
Christmas. Soon the news of this rare feast 
spreads far and wide amongst the half-starved 
birds of the forest, and they come in droves. 

In the garden of the Tuilleries, Paris, an 
old man whose life had been saddened by the 
the loss of those he loved, sought consolation 
in his solitude, and found it in the friendship 
of little birds. When he entered the garden 
they flew about his head, settled on his shoul • 
ders and his arms, and picked the crumbs 
close to his careful feet. 

Animals. 

Antelopes are an elegant and active tribe 
of animals, which inhabit mountainous coun¬ 
tries. They bound among the rocks with so 
much lightness and elasticity, as to strike the 
spectator with astonishment. They browse 
like goats, and frequently feed on the tender 


Concise Information. 199 

shoots of trees. In disposition they are timid 
and restless. A curious species of antelopes 
is found in India. It has four horns. The 
front pair of horns are very short, and placed 
just above the eyes, the hinder part being 
much longer, and occupying the usual posi¬ 
tion on the head. 

Argali. —The giant sheep of Siberia. It 
is nearly as large as a moderately sized ox, 
being four feet high at the shoulders. Its 
horns are nearly four feet in length if measured 
along the curve, and at their base are about 
nineteen inches in circumference. The horns 
are sometimes broken off in the fierce conflicts 
which these creatures wage with each other. 
These broken horns are used by the small 
animals which inhabit the country, and 
changed at once into dwelling houses, where 
they lie comfortably in this strange home. 

Armadillo.— It inhabits South America. 
The armor consists of large plates of horny 
covering. These plates are connected by a 
series of bony rings, overlapping each other, 
and permitting the animal to move freely. 

Aurochs.— This animal is found in Lithu¬ 
ania, Russia. It abounds in forests and 
marshy districts. The aurochs gives forth a 
powerful and curious odor, which is far from 
unpleasant, and partakes equally of the char- 


200 Concise Information. 

acter of musk and violet. This perfume is 
exhaled from all parts of the body, but most 
powerfully from the skin and hair which cov¬ 
ers the upper part of the forehead. It is 
found in both sexes, but is much weaker in 
the female. It is about six feet high, and 
resembles the buffalo. 

Babiroussa.—A kind of swine, a native of 
Malacca. Four tusks project above the snout. 
The tusks of the lower jaw project upward on 
each side of the upper, but those of the upper 
jaw are directed in a very strange manner. 
Their sockets, instead of pointing downwards, 
are curved upwards, so that the tooth, in fill¬ 
ing the curvatures of the socket, passes through 
a hole in the upper lip, and curves boldly 
over the face. It lives in herds of consider¬ 
able size, and is found inhabiting the marshy 
parts of the country. 

Bonnet Monkey.— An inhabitant of Asia. 
For the title of bonnet it is indebted to the 
peculiar arrangement of the hairs on the 
crown of the head, which radiate in such a 
manner that they seem to form a kind of cap 
or bonnet. 

Camel.— From the earliest times that are 
recorded in history, the camel is mentioned 
as being used by man. 

Eland. —An animal of South Africa. The 


Concise Information. 201 

flesh of the eland is tender, and is much 
prized by the inhabitants, where the meat is 
very tough and dry. In some strange man¬ 
ner, it contrives to live for a long time with¬ 
out drinking. 

Elephants are the largest of all land ani¬ 
mals. They are found wild, and generally 
in large troops, in the shady woods of Asia 
and Africa. They feed on vegetables, on 
the young shoots of trees, on grain and fruit; 
and they are probably the longest lived of 
any quadrupeds. 

Flying Fox. —The largest of the bat tribe, 
some of them measuring nearly five feet in 
expanse of wing. 

Gazelles inhabit Arabia and Syria. Their 
eyes are very large, dark and lustrous. It is 
easily tamed when young, and is frequently 
seen domesticated in the court-yards of 
houses in Syria. Its swiftness is so great that 
even a greyhound cannot overtake it. The 
gazelle bid defiance to their assailants by 
gathering themselves into a compact circu¬ 
lar mass, the females and the young being 
placed in the center, and the outer circle be¬ 
ing composed of the males, all presenting their 
horns towards the intruder. 

Giraffe.— The tallest of all animals, some 
measuring 20 feet fn height. For feeding on 


202 


Concise Information. 


the ground, the giraffe is unfitted, and never 
attempts that feat except when urged by hun¬ 
ger or some very pressing cause. As far 
as is known, the giraffe is a silent animal. 
Julius Caesar was the first to exhibit it at Rome. 
Figures of the giraffe, accurately outlined, 
occur frequently on the ancient monuments 
of Egypt. 

Goat.— The Syrian goat is notable for the 
extreme length of its ears, which hang down¬ 
wards, and when the animal raises its head, 
nearly touch the shoulders. The Spanish 
goat has no horns. 

Gorilla.— Remarkable for its strength and 
ferocity. It inhabits the western shores of 
Africa. 

Hippopotamus. —It is a native of Africa, 
and is always found either in water or in its 
near vicinity. 

Horse.— The color of the wild horse of 
Tartary is red, with a black stripe along the 
back. These horses are very strong and hardy, 
and the breed is preserved in good condition 
by the custom which prevails among the Tar¬ 
tars of killing and eating the defective or weak 
foals, and preserving the strong and healthy 
for use. Being brought up with the family, 
the Tartar horse is very gentle and familiar 
with its owners. . When they are only a few 


Concise Information. 203 

months of age they are ridden by the children, 
but never backed by a man until they are five 
or six years old. The highest prized of the 
Arabian breeds is the Kochlani. The pedi¬ 
gree of these horses is carefully preserved, 
and written upon parchment. In some cases, 
the genealogy is said to extend for nearly 
2,000 years. 

Kangaroo. —It is found in Australia and 
the neighboring islands. The great kanga¬ 
roo is nearly as tall as a man, and moves by 
leaps. The fore legs are very short, useless 
in walking, but used for digging or bringing 
food to the mouth. The hind legs, which 
are long, are used in moving, enabling it to 
make enormous bounds. 

Oryx. —It has the mane and tail of the 
horse, the head and coloring of the ass, and 
the legs and feet of the antelope. Its horns 
are about three feet in length, slightly curved 
backward, ringed at the base, and of a shining 
black color. 

Spring-bok. —This animal derives its title 
from the extraordinary leap which it is in the 
habit of making whenever it is alarmed. In¬ 
habiting the vast plains of Southern Africa, 
the spring-bok is accustomed to make pilgrim- 
agesfrom one spot to another, vast herds being 
led by their chiefs, and ravaging the country 


204 Concise Information . 

over which they pass. While engaged in 
these pilgrimages, the spring-bok suffers sadly 
from many foes, who thin their numbers along 
the whole of their march. “ There is a curi¬ 
ous provision of nature for preserving the 
herd in proper condition. It is evident that 
as the animals move in a compact mass, the 
leaders will eat all the pasture, and those in 
the rear will find nothing but the bare ground, 
cut to pieces by their predecessors. The rear¬ 
ward animals would therefore soon perish by 
starvation, did not matters arrange themselves 
in a rather remarkable manner. The leading 
spring-boks, having the choice of the best 
pasture, soon become so satiated and over¬ 
loaded with food, that they are unable to keep 
pace with their eager and hungrily active 
followers, and so are forced to drop into the 
rear. The hindermost animals, in the mean¬ 
time, are anxiously pushing forward in search 
of food, so that there is a continual inter¬ 
change going on as the herd moves onwards, 
those in front dropping back to the rear, while 
those in the rear are constantly pressing for¬ 
wards to take their places in front.” 

Swine are spread over the greater portion 
of the habitable globe. 

Zebra, somewhat like the mule, has a 
large head and ears. Its body is round apd 


Concise Information. 205 

plump, and its legs are delicately small. 
The skin is as smooth as satin, and adorned 
with elegant stripes like ribbons, which in 
the male are brown on a yellowish white 
ground, and in the female black on a white 
ground. Zebras inhabit the scorching plains 
of Africa. 


Curious Trees. 

Bread Fruit Tree. —It grows in the isl¬ 
ands of the Pacific. The fruit attains the 
size of a child’s head ten years old. If 
wanted for food, it needs to be gathered a 
little before it is fully ripe, and then baked, 
like hoe-cake, in hot ashes. When properly 
cooked, it resembles not a little the taste of 
a good wheaten loaf, nor is this the only use 
of the tree. Its timber is excellent for house¬ 
building, for making canoes and agricultural 
implements. The sap is a gummy substance, 
very useful as a pitch for calking the seams 
of vessels. The fiber of the inner bark is used 
by the natives for making cloth, which in 
that climate answers a good purpose. 

Cow Tree. —The cow tree is a native of 
Venezuela, South America. It is often found 
growing on the poorest and most rocky soil. 
Its leaves are dry and leathery in appearance, 
and for several months of the year not a shower 


206 Concise Information. 

falls to moisten its roots and branches. Yet, 
by piercing the bark, it yields a liquid resem¬ 
bling milk, which is very sweet and nourish¬ 
ing. At sunrise this fluid seems to be specially 
abundant, and at this hour the natives go to 
the trees in great numbers to get their daily 
supply. 

Cannon Ball Tree.— This tree grows in 
the tropics. It rises about 65 feet high, has 
beautiful crimson flowers, in clusters and very 
fragrant. The resemblance of the fruit to 
cannon balls has given it its name. When 
fully ripe, the ball bursts with a loud report. 
The shells are worked into cups, and a great 
variety of other useful and ornamental house¬ 
hold utensils. 

Dwarf Tree. —It is found on high land 
near Cape Horn. Its maximum height is two 
and a half feet and the spread of its branches 
about four feet, and a thick, thorny mat at 
that. 

Ivory Nut Tree. —This tree is found in 
South America, and belongs to the palm tribe. 
The natives use it in building their huts; and 
out of its nuts they make buttons and various 
trinkets. Of late years the nuts have found 
their way to other countries, where they are 
worked up into all sorts of fancy articles. 

Sorrowful Tree— So called from its habit 


Concise Information . 207 

of only blooming at night. It is found in 
India. While the sun is shining, not an ex¬ 
panded flower is visible; yet in half an hour 
after the sun is below the horizon, the tree is 
full of them. There is little beauty in them, 
though the odor is pleasant. At sunrise the 
petals close up or drop to the ground. 

Tallow Tree.— It lives in China, and 
yields an oily substance resembling tallow. 
The tree is only of medium size at maturity. 

Varnish Tree.— Found in Japan and 
China. This is the tree which produces the 
black Japan varnish. It resembles, in gen¬ 
eral appearance, the white ash tree. 

Periods of Digestion. 


Substances. II. M. 

Apples, sweet, mellow, raw, ... 1 30 

Apples, sour, mellow, raw, ... 2 

Apples, sour, hard, raw, .... 2 50 

Barley, boiled,.2 

Beans, pod, boiled,.2 30 

Beets, boiled,.3 45 

Beef, fried,.4 

Beef, old, salted, boiled, .... 4 15 

Beefsteak, broiled,.3 

Bread, corn, baked,.3 15 

Bread, wheat, fresh, baked, ... 3 30 
Butter,, melted,.. . 3 30 













208 


Concise Information. 


Substances. H. M. 

Cabbage, raw, with vinegar, . . 2 

Cabbage, head, raw,.2 30 

Cabbage, boiled,.4 30 

Cake, sponge, baked,.2 30 

Carrot, orange, boiled, .... 3 15 

Cheese, old, raw,.3 3° 

Chicken, soup, boiled,.3 

Custard, baked,.2 45 

Dumplings, apple, boiled, ... 3 

Eggs, whipped, raw,.1 30 

Eggs, fresh, raw,.2 

Eggs, fresh, roasted,.2 15 

Eggs, fresh, soft boiled, .... 3 

Eggs, fresh, hard boiled, .... 3 30 

Eggs, fresh, fried,.3 30 

Fowls, domestic, boiled, .... 4 

Goose, wild, roasted,.2 30 

Hash, warmed,.2 30 

Liver, beef, fresh, broiled, ... 2 

Milk, boiled,.2 

Milk, raw,.215 


Mutton, fresh, broiled,.3 

Mutton, fresh, boiled,.3 

Mutton, fresh, roasted, .... 3 15 

Oysters, fresh, stewed,.3 30 

Oysters, fresh, raw,.2 55 

Oysters, fresh, roasted,.3 15 

Oyster soup, boiled,.3 30 





















Concise Information. 209 

Substances. H. M. 

Parsnips, boiled,.2 30 

Pork, salted, broiled,.3 15 

Pork, salted, fried,.4 15 

Pork, salted, boiled,.4 30 

Pork, roasted,.5 15 

Porksteak, broiled,. 3 I 5 

Potatoes, Irish, baked,.2 30 

Potatoes, Irish, boiled, .... 3 30 

Rice,.1 

Sago, boiled,.1 45 

Salmon, salted, boiled, .... 4 
Sausage, fresh, broiled, .... 3 20 

Soup, barley, boiled,.1 30 

Soup, bean, boiled,.3 

Suet, beef, boiled,.5 30 

Tapioca, boiled,.2 

Trout, fresh, fried,.1 30 

Turkey, domestic, roasted, ... 2 30 

Turnips, flat, boiled,.3 30 

Veal, fresh, fried,.. 4 30 

Veal, fresh, broiled,.4 

Venison, steak, broiled, .... 1 45 

Principal Exports of Different Coun¬ 
tries. 

Arabia.—C offee, olives, myrrh, frankin¬ 
cense, gum arabic. 


14 

















210 


Concise Information , 


Asiatic Islands. —Pepper, cloves, nut¬ 
megs, ginger, camphor, coffee. 

Belgium. —Grain, flax, hops, woolens, lin¬ 
ens, laces, various manufactures. 

Brazil. —Cotton, sugar, coffee, tobacco, 
gold, diamonds, wheat, dye-woods. 

British America. —Flour, furs, lumber, 
fish. 

Central America. —Logwood, mahogany, 
indigo, cocoa. 

Chili. —Gold, silver, copper, wheat, hemp, 
hides, sugar, cotton, fruits. 

China. —Tea, silks, nankeens, porcelain, 
articles of ivory and pearl. 

Denmark. —Grain, horses, cattle, beef, 
pork, butter and cheese. 

Egypt. —Rice, grain, linseed, fruits,indigo, 
cotton, sugar. 

France.— Silks, woolens, linens, cottons, 
wine, brandy, porcelain, toys. 

Germany. —Linen, grain, various manu¬ 
factures of silver, copper, etc. 

Great Britain —Woolens, cottons, linens, 
hardware, porcelain. 

Greenland. —Whale-oil, whalebone, seal 
skins. 

Hindostan. —Cotton, silks, rice, sugar, 
coffee, opium, indigo. 


Concise Information. 211 

Holland. —Fine linens, woolens, butter, 
cheese, various manufactures. 

Italy. —Silks, wines, grain, oil, fruits. 

Ireland. —Linens, beef, butter, tallow, 
hides, potatoes, barley. 

Japan. —Silk and cotton goods, Japanware, 
porcelain. 

Mexico. —Gold, silver, logwood, cochi¬ 
neal, fruits. 

Persia. —Carpets, shawls, wine, silk, cot¬ 
ton, rice, rhubarb, guns, swords. 

Peru. —Gold, silver, Peruvian bark, mer¬ 
cury, sugar, cotton, fruits. 

Russia. —Hemp, iron, linen, grain, timber, 
furs, tallow, platina. 

Sweden and Norway. —Iron, steel, cop¬ 
per, timber, fish. 

Switzerland. —Watches, jewelry, paper, 
laces, linen, cottons, and silk goods. 

Turkey. —Grain, fruits, oils, wines, car¬ 
pets, muslins, cotton, swords. 

United States. — Eastern States —Lum¬ 
ber, beef, pork, fish, cottons, woolens. Mid¬ 
dle States —Flour, wheat, salt, coal, oil, cot¬ 
tons, woolens. Southern States— Cotton, rice, 
tobacco, corn, lumber, pitch, fruits. West¬ 
ern States —Corn, wheat, lead, coal, iron, salt, 
lime, beef, pork. 


2i2 Concise Information. 


Capitals of Different Countries. 


Country. 

Abyssinia, . . . . 
Argentine Rupublic, 

Austria,. 

Bavaria, .... 

Belgium,. 

Brazil,. 

Bolivia,. 

Burman Empire, . . 

Chili,. 

China,. 

Denmark, . . . . 

Egypt. 

France, . 

German Empire, 
Great Britain, . . 

Greece,. 

Italy,. 

Japan, . 

Liberia,. 

Mexico,. 

Netherlands, . . . 

Norway,. 

Paraguay, .... 

Persia,. 

Peru,. 

Portugal, .... 
Russia,. 


Capital. 

. . . Magdala. 
. Buenos Ayres. 
. . . Vienna. 
. . . Munich. 
. . . Brussels. 
Rio de Janeiro. 
.. . Chuquisaca. 
. Monchoboo. 
- . . Santiago. 
. . . . Pekin. 
. Copenhagen. 
. . . . Cairo. 
. . . . Paris. 
. . . . Berlin. 
. . . London. 
. . . Athens. 
. . . . Rome. 
. . . Tokio. 

Monrovia. 
. . Mexico. 
. The Hague. 
. Christiana. 
. . Asuncion. 

. . Teheran. 
. . . Lima. 
. . Lisbon. 
St. Petersburg. 



























Concise Information. 


213 


Country. 

Capital. 

Sandwich Islands, . 


San Salvador, . . 

. . San Salvador. 

Servia, ... 

.... Belgrade. 

Siam,. 


Spain,. 


Switzerland, . . . 


Sweden, . 

. . Stockholm. 

Turkey,. 

. Constantinople. 

United States, . . 

. . Washington. 

Uruguay, . . . . 

. . Montevideo. 

Venezuela, . . 

. . . . Caraccas. 

Death Rate in the Principal Cities. 

The annual death 

rates in some of the 

principal cities of the civilized world, accord¬ 
ing to returns communicated to the Regis¬ 
trar General of England, are as follows : 

Alexandria, . . . 

. 57 

Amsterdam, . . . 


Baltimore, .... 

.2 3 

Berlin, ..... 

. 3 1 

Bombay, .... 

. 2 3 

Breslau, . . . 

. 35 

Brooklyn, . . .• . 

.29 

Brussels,. 

.28 

Cairo,. 

. 53 

Calcutta,. 

.17 

Christiana,. 

. 3 1 























214 Concise Information. 

Copenhagen,.24 

Dublin,.20 

Edinburgh, . . . .'.17 

Geneva,.10 

Glasgow,.19 

Halifax,.19 

Hamburg,.27 

Liverpool,.23 

London,.18 

Manchester,.18 

Madras,.34 

Munich,.29 

Newcastle,.20 

New York,. . 34 

Paris,.22 

Portsmouth, ..20 

Prague,.30 

Stockholm,.23 

St. Petersburg,. 27 

The Hague,.25 

Vienna,.20 

The Egyptian Obelisk. 

The Egyptian obelisk was presented to the 
city of New York by the Khedive of Egypt. 
It was moved to its present position, Central 
Park, New York city, at an expense of nearly 
$100,000. It was swung into position Janu¬ 
ary 22, 1881. The height of the obelisk, 























Concise Information. 215 

from base to tip, is 69 feet 2 inches. Base of 
the obelisk, square through its axis, 7 feet 
8^ inches; at the top, 5 feet 3 inches; 
weight. 219^ tons. No two sides of the 
obelisk are equal in width. The height of 
the pedestal is 6 feet 11 inches; at the base 
it is 9 feet 3 inches square, and at the top 9 
feet 1 inch square. The weight of the pedes¬ 
tal is 49 tons. Height of the foundation, 
4 feet 10 inches. Weight of the obelisk and 
its pedestal and foundation 712,000 pounds. 

Origin of Minutes and Seconds. 

The division of the hour into 60 minutes, 
and the minute into 60 seconds, is borrowed 
from the Babylonians. Hipparchus, a Greek 
astronomer, who lived in the second century 
B. C., accepted the Babylonian system of 
reckoning time. From Hipparchus that sys¬ 
tem found its way into the works of Ptolemy, 
about A. D., 150, and thence it was carried 
down the stream of civilization, finding its 
last resting place on the dial-plates of clocks 
and watches. The Babylonian mode of 
counting was by sixties—ours is by hundreds. 

The Bartholdi Statue. 

The statue is 151 feet 1 inch high. It is 
made of copper supported on a strong frame- 


216 Concise lnfon?iation. 

work of iron. The pedestal is one of the 
most massive pieces of masonry in the world. 
Its foundation is a pyramidal structure of 
concrete, 91 feet square at the base and 52 
feet 10 inches high. The top of the torch is 
at an elevation of 305 feet 11 inches from low 
water mark. It required two years of con¬ 
tinuous labor to erect it. It was completed 
in 1886. The torch carries electric lights 
which are visible for many miles at sea. 

The Inventor of the Wheelbarrow. 

Leonardo da Vinci was the inventor of the 
wheelbarrow. Born in Florence, Italy, in 
1452; died, 1519. A musician, poet, paint¬ 
er, architect, sculptor, physiologist, engineer, 
botanist, natural historian, and inventor. 
He was a real master of many arts, and a 
practical worker besides. He painted one 
of the grandest pictures in the world, “ The 
Last Supper,” a picture that has been copied 
many times, and engraved in several styles. 
It is said that, without seeing the painting 
itself, no one can form an idea how grand 
and beautiful it is. 

Carlisle Table of Mortality. 

According to the Carlisle table of mortal¬ 
ity, of 10,000 children born, 3,540 die in 


217 


Concise Information. 

io years; 3,910 die in 20 years; 4,358 die 
in 30 years; 4,915 die in 40 years; 5,603 
die in 50 years; 6,357 die in 60 years ; 7,599 
die in 70 years; 9,047 die in 80 years; 
9,848 die in 90 years ; 9,991 die in 100 years; 
9,999 die in 104 years. Leaving only one of 
the 10,000 living at the age of 104 years. 


The Weddings. 

At end of first year comes the Cotton wedding 

Second year,.Paper “ 

Third “ .Leather “ 

Fifth “ Wooden “ 

Seventh “ Woolen “ 

Tenth “ Tin “ 

Twelfth “ . Silk and fine linen “ 

Fifteenth year,.Crystal “ 

Twentieth year,.China “ 

Twenty-fifth year,.Silver “ 

Thirtieth year,.Pearl “ 

Fortieth “ .Ruby “ 

Fiftieth “ Golden “ 

Seventy-fifth year, . . . Diamond “ 

The World’s Blind. 


The world’s blind are computed to num 
ber about 1,000,000, about one sightless per¬ 
son to every 1,400 inhabitants. The pro¬ 
portion is greatest in Cairo, Egypt—one 













21 8 


Concise Information. 


blind person to every 20 inhabitants ; in New 
Zealand one in every 3,550 inhabitants. 
Germany has the greatest number of insti¬ 
tutes for the blind. 

Singular Origin of Words. 

Agate. —So called, says Pliny, because it 
was first found near the river Achates, Sicily. 

Ambition. —Latin, ambitio, a going around, 
especially of candidates for office in ancient 
Rome, to solicit votes; hence, desire for 
office or honor, from ambire , to go around. 

Amethyst. —In Greek means without 
drunkenness. The ancients supposed this 
precious stone had the power to prevent drunk¬ 
enness. 

Bologna. —From Bologna, a town in Italy. 

Calculation. —Whenever we term arith¬ 
metic the science of calculation, we in fact 
allude to that period of the science of num¬ 
bers, when pebbles ( calculi ) were used, as 
now among savages they often are, to facili¬ 
tate the practice of counting. 

Calico. —So called because it was first im¬ 
ported from Calicut, in the East Indies. 

Cambric. —From Cambray in Flanders, 
where it was first made. 

Candidate. —Latin, candidatus, clothed 
in white, a candidate for office, because 


Concise Information. 219 

those who sought offices in ancient Rome 
were obliged to be clothed in a white garment. 

Cherry. —So named, it is said, from Cera- 
sus, a city in Pontus, Asia, whence the tree 
was imported into Italy. 

Copper. —From Cyprus, an island near 
the coast of Asia Minor, renowned for its rich 
copper mines. 

Cravat.— French cravate, a Croat, an in¬ 
habitant of Croatia, one of a body of Austrian 
troops, from whom in 1636, this article of 
dress was adopted in France. 

Crystal, originally signified ice, to which 
it bears a great resemblance. 

Currant. —From Corinth, Greece. 

Gauze.— So called because it was first in¬ 
troduced from Gaza, a city of Palestine. 

Guinea.— An English coin, was originally 
coined (in 1663) of gold brought from Guinea, 
Africa. 

Left. —The “ left ” hand is the hand which 
we “ leave M inasmuch as for many times we 
use the right hand, we do not once employ 
the left; and it obtains its name from being 
“left ” unused so often. 

Magnet. —From Magnesia, a country in 
Thessaly. 

Money. —From Moneta, a surname of 
Juno, in whose temple at Rome money was 
coined. 


220 


Concise Information. 


Muslin. —From Mosul, Asia, where it was 
first manufactured. 

Paper. —From Latin papyrus , paper reed, 
an Egyptian plant, from which a kind of 
paper was made by cutting its inner rind into 
slips, and gluing them together transversely. 

Parchment. —From Pergamus, a city of 
Asia Minor, where it was invented and 
brought into use, when Ptolemy cut off the 
supply of papyrus from Egypt. 

Pheasant. —From Phasis, a river in 
Cholcis. 

Sign. —Formerly it was the custom for 
most persons, when signing their name, to 
make a mark or sign; great barons and kings 
themselves not being ashamed to set their 
sigh or cross to documents. 

Thrall and Thralldom descend to us from 
a period when it was the custom to thrill or 
drill the ear of a slave in token of servitude. 

Worsted. —From Worsted, a town in Nor¬ 
folk, England. 


Concise Information. 


221 


ALBUM SELECTIONS. 


May friendship’s pen from age to age 
Write their names from page to page; 
May best of wishes herein be given. 
And then at last sweet rest in heaven. 


Desire not to live long, but to live well; 
How long we live, not years, but actions tell. 


Keep your album for a garden spot, 
Where all your friends may sow; 
Where thorns and thistles flourish not, 
Where flowers immortal grow. 


These few lines to you are tendered. 

By a friend sincere and true; 
Hoping but to be remembered 
When I’m far away from you. 

In the book of life—God’s album— 
May thy name be penned with care, 
And may all who here have written 
Write their name forever there. 


W 7 hen the name I write here is dim on the page, 
And the leaves of your album are yellow with age, 
Still think of me kindly, and do not forget 
That, wherever I am, I remember you yet. 









222 


Concise Information. 


Life, Death and Immortality—these three—the first 
the Road—the second the Gate. May you walk safely 
the first, pass triumphantly the second, and.rest forever 
in the third. 


He is a coward who will not turn back 
When first he discovers he’s on the wrong track. 


Make good use of time, if thou lovest eternity; yes¬ 
terday cannot be recalled—to-morrow cannot be se¬ 
cured—to-day only is thine, which, if once lost, is lost 
forever. 


There is a small and simple flower 
That twines around the humblest cot, 
And in the sad and lonely hours 
It whispers low : “ Forget-me-not.” 


When years and months have glided by, 
And on this page you cast your eye, 
Remember ’twas a friend sincere 
That left this kind remembrance here, 
With best wishes for your future cheer. 


Farewell, my friend, may good luck hit you. 
And among her favorites admit you. 


Then learn to make the most of life— 
Make glad each passing day— 

For time will never bring thee back 
The chances swept away. 


Meanness shun, and all its train; 
Goodness seek, and life is gain. 









Concise Information . 


223 


The sweetest word in our language is Love. The 
greatest is God. The one expressing the shortest pos¬ 
sible time is Now. The three taken together form the 
grandest duty man can perform—Love God Now. 


He most lives who thinks most, speaks the noblest, 
acts the best. 


May you walk the path of duty 

Whether strewn with thorns or flowers, 
Till you reach the land of beauty 
Where no storm of sorrow lowers. 


Hark, the pearly air is trembling, 
Liquid music floats along; 

Angels, in sweet joy assembling, 
Thrill the sky with heavenly song, 
“ Peace on earth ” is their refrain, 

Oh be it yours this peace to gain. 


Never grow weary of doing good. 


May He who hath penciled the leaves with beauty, 
given the flowers their bloom, and lent music to the lay 
of the timid bird, graciously remember thee in that day 
when He shall gather His jewels. 


The earth can boast no purer tie, 
No brighter, richer gem, 

No jewel of a lovelier dye 
Than friendship’s diadem. 


May the angels twine for thee. 
A wreath of immortality. 









224 


Concise Information. 


Gladly now it is my pleasure 
Joy to wish you without measure, 
Happiness and peace attending, 

With pure heavenly blessings blending. 


In time we transact business for eternity; whatso¬ 
ever, therefore, we do now, should be done well. 


Guard well thy thoughts— 

Oui thoughts are heard in heaven. 


Count that day lost whose low descending sun 
Views from thy hand no worthy actions done. 


Live for those that love you, 

For those whose hearts are true, 

For the Heaven that smiles above you, 
And the good that you may do. 


In times of prosperity our friends are many, 
But the times of adversity proves them. 


Health and prosperity 
Your life to cheer 
With every blessing 

For the bright New Year. 








Concise Information . 


225 


INDEX. 


A. 

Abraham,.. . . . 

Africa,. 

Album selections,. 

Alexander,. 

Alexandria,. 

Alphabet,. 

Amazon,. 

America,. 

Ancient and modern geographical names, . . . 

civilizations,. 

Animals,. 

Ararat,. 

Area of the United States,. 

Asia,. 

Minor,. 

Athens,. 

Atlantic Ocean,. 

Attorney General,. 

Australia,. 


80 

80 
221 

81 

82 

84 

85 

85 
78 

165 

198 

86 
3 

87 

88 
88 

90 
5 

9 1 


Baalbec, . . . . 
Balloons, . . . 
Banks, . . . . 
Banyan, . . . . 
Baobab, . . . . 
Bartholdi statue, 
Battering rams, . 
Battles, . . . . 

15 


. 91 

• 9 i 
5>92 
. 92 

• 92 
. 215 

• 93 


5,68 





























226 Concise information. 

Beards,. 93 

Bells,. . .... 94 

Bethlehem,. 95 

Birds, .188 

Blind, the world’s, 217 

Books,.6,96 

Bricks,. 99 

Brother Jonathan,.6 

Burial, modes of,.56 

C. 

Cabinet, first,.11 

Canals,. 7 

Cannon, .99 

Capitals of different countries,.212 

Cereals,.100 

Chinese wall,.• *.100 

Christmas,.101 

Cities, popular names of,.19 

Colleges,. 7 

Colors,.102 

Colosseum,.102 

Columbus,.103 

Compass, points of,.47 

Condensed information,.180 

Condor,.104 

Confucius,.105 

Congress, .. 8 

Continental, . 8 

Constitution,. 8 

Continents, peculiarities of,.47 

Cremation,.58 

Cross,.105 

Crowns of different nations,.73 

Crusades,. 107 

Curious trees,.205 





































Concise Information. 227 

D. 

Damascus,.112 

Dark day,. 9 

David,.112 

Dead Sea,.113 

Death of two ex-Presidents in one day, .... 9 

in the late war,. 9 

Diving bell,.114 

E. 

Earth, peculiarities of,. ^ 

Earthquakes,.9, 114 

Easter, . . ..116 

Egyptian obelisk,.214 

Embalming,.117 

Europe, . . .♦.119 

Exports of different countries,.209 

. F. 

Fire engines,.11 

First settlements,.12 

First State admitted,.12 

Flowers,.120 

Fruit,.120 


G. 


Ganges,. 54 

Gas,.. . . 121 

General councils,.78 

Glass,.13 

Gospels,.. . • 121 

Grand jury.13 

Greece,.122 

Gulf stream,. 49 > 12 3 




























228 Concise Information. 

H. 

High priests, number of Jewish,.80 

structures,. .... 77 

History, biography and geography,.80 

Horses, .124, 202 

Hospitals, .13 

Human race,.126 

I. 

Indians,..13 

Insurance, ..14 

Interior Department,.14 

Iron works,.14 

J. 

Jerusalem,.128 

Jews,.* . . . 130 

Jordan,. 53 

Judiciary,.14 

Julius Caesar, .132 

K. 

Kings and Queens of England,. 75 

L. 

Lakes,.16 

Languages,.133 

Legion,.134 

Libraries,.16, 134 

Lightning rods,.16 

M. 

Meteoric shower,..16 

Minutes and seconds, origin of,.215 

Money,.16, 135 


























Concise Information. 229 

Mortality tables,.213,216 

Mountains,.17, 186 

peculiarities of,.51 

N. 

Names,. 136 

Napoleon Bonaparte,.136 

Navy Department,.17 

Newspapers,.18, 138 

Nile,.33 

Noah’s ark,.149 

Numerals,.141 

O. 

Oceans, peculiarities of,.48 

P. 

Pacific ocean,..141 

Patent right law,.18 

Periods of digestion,.207 

Pilate, ..142 

Plants, fruits and animals,.18 

Plato,. 144 

Pompeii,.145 

Population of the United States, 25 

Postage stamps,.146 

Post offices,.30, 147 

Postmaster general,.31 

Presidents,.33 

how chosen, ........... 31 

first inaugurated,.11 

message,.37 

Printing,.63, 147 

Public building, first erected,.12 

Pyramids,.147 































230 


Concise Information. 


R. 

Railroads,. 

Rainfall and temperature, . 

Rainless districts,. 

Rings, . . . .. 

Rivers, peculiarities of, . . 

Romans,. 

Rose,. 


37 


38 

48 

147 

52 

151 

152 


S. 

Sahara,.155 

Salaries of United States officers,.38 

Samaritans,.155 

Santa Claus,. .156 

Scylla and Charybdis, . . 156 

Seven wonders of the world,.63 

Ships,.157 

Silk.39 

Slavery,.40 

Socrates,.158 

Soldiers in the late war,.40 

Solomon,.158 

pools,.158 

Sphinx,.159 

Stars and stripes,.40 

State Department,.41 

Steamboats,.41 


T. 


Telegraph, .41 

Telephone,.42 

Temple, .159 

Thanksgiving,.42 

Tower of Babel,.161 

Treasury Department,.42 

Turnpike,.42 
































Concise Information. 231 

U. 

Uncle Sam,.42 

United States,. 3 

V. 

Velocipede,.43 

Volcanoes,.• .162 

Voting by ballot,.43 

W. 

War Department,.44 

Washington,.44 

Water,.164 

Wedding anniversaries,.217 

West Point,.45 

Wheelbarrow, inventor of,.216 

Words, singular origin of,.218 

Y. 

Yellowstone National Park,.45 

/ 













































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